137    Ibl 


THE  OLD  NORSE  ELEMENT 
IN  SWEDISH  ROMANTICISM 


BY 

ADOLPH  BURNETT  /BENSON 

SOMETIME   FELLOW   IN   GERMAN,  COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILMENT   OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  IN  THE  FACULTY 

OF  PHILOSOPHY,  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
1914 


Copyright,    1914 
BY  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

Printed  from  type,  October,  1914 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 
LANCASTER,  PA. 


Approved  for  publication,  on  behalf  of  the  Department  of 
Germanic  Languages  and  Literatures  of  Columbia  University. 

CALVIN  THOMAS. 

NEW  YORK,  October,  1914 


305815 


TO 

MY  MOTHER 

WHOSE  SACRIFICE  AND  ENCOURAGEMENT 
HAS  MADE  MY  EDUCATION   POSSIBLE 


PREFACE 

Enthusiasm  for  the  Norse  saga  during  the  Swedish  Romantic 
period  was  not  confined  to  the  members  of  the  so-called  Gothic 
School.  The  interest  in  the  Viking  age  spread  also  to  other 
groups  of  poets  as  well  as  to  some  individuals  who,  like  Stag- 
nelius,  were  not  identified  with  any  school.  As  we  shall  see, 
however,  they  were  all,  in  the  ordinary,  broad  sense,  Romantic. 
This  review,  therefore,  purports  to  deal  with  a  number  of  het- 
erogeneous writers,  often  belonging  to  entirely  different  literary 
confessions,  but  all  bound  together,  for  us,  by  a  bond  of  com- 
mon interest  in  Scandinavian  antiquity. 

The  purpose  of  this  study  is  fourfold:  (i)  to  show  clearly 
that  a  genuine  interest  in  Scandinavian  antiquity  was  present 
from  the  beginning  in  both  the  new  literary  tendencies  of  the 
time,  (2)  to  characterize  this  interest,  (3)  to  collect  and  ex- 
amine all  the  important  literary  monuments  from  1810  to  about 
1825  that  make  use  of  Scandinavian  saga,  and  (4)  to  record 
conservative  opposition  to  Norse  mythology  in  Sweden  during 
that  period. 

The  well-known  literary  chiefs,  Tegner,  Geijer,  and  Ling, 
will  be  treated  only  incidentally  in  this  study,  in  connection  with 
specific  problems.  The  present  investigation  intends  to  empha- 
size the  work  of  the  minor  "Goths"  and  of  such  other  Roman- 
ticists as  are  not  ordinarily  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
Old  Norse  element.  Among  the  latter  are  the  Fosforists. 

An  appendix  has  been  added,  containing  brief  biographical 
data  of  the  most  important  writers  connected  with  Swedish 
Romanticism. 

Lastly,  I  wish  to  express  my  gratitude  to  all  those  who  have 
contributed  in  any  way  to  make  this  investigation  possible. 

To  Professor  Calvin  Thomas,  first  of  all,  I  owe  a  deep  debt 
for  substantial  encouragement  and  for  ever-ready  assistance, 
especially  in  connection  with  the  final  proof-reading. 

ix 


To  Professor  Robert  Herndon  Fife,  Jr.,  of  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, who  introduced  me  to  the  study  of  Romanticism;  to 
the  late  Professor  Rudolf  Tombo,  Jr.,  to  Professor  Louis 
Auguste  Loiseaux,  and  especially  to  Professor  Arthur  F.  J. 
Remy,  I  owe  more  than  a  pupil's  debt  to  a  teacher. 

To  George  Frederick  Hummel,  A.M.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  I 
am  indebted  for  a  valuable  suggestion  in  connection  with  the 
Introduction;  Professor  Fletcher  Briggs  of  the  Iowa  State  Col- 
lege of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts  has  furnished  a  useful 
hint;  Froken  Elna  Bengtson  of  Boras,  Sweden,  has  provided  a 
list  of  books  for  my  bibliography ;  and  Andrew  Thomas  Weaver, 
A.M.,  of  Northwestern  Academy,  Hannah  Senior  Nicholson, 
B.A.,  and  Marion  E.  Morton,  B.A.,  recently  of  the  Hanover 
(New  Hampshire)  High  School,  have  assisted  in  correcting  the 
manuscript. 

I  beg  to  acknowledge  also  my  indebtedness  to  the  Yale  Uni- 
versity library,  where  I  obtained  many  of  my  most  valuable 
sources. 

A.  B.  B. 

July,  1914- 


CONTENTS 

PACK 

PREFACE  .  ix 


INTRODUCTION    i 

Fosforism  and  Gothism. 

The  beginnings  of  interest  in  the  Old  Norse  element. 

The  Northern  renaissance  in  England,  Germany,  France,  and 
Denmark  up  to  1810,  with  list  of  important  publications.  The 
Norse  renaissance  in  Sweden  during  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries. 

CHAPTER  I  26 

The  interest  of  the  Fosforists  in  Scandinavian  Antiquity. 
Atterbom :     His    Gothic    contributions    to    Svensk    Litteratur- 

Tidning. 

The  Fosforists  in  literary  criticism. 

Fosforos,  Poetisk  Kalender.     Later  interest  in  the  saga. 
Hammarskjold :  His  attitude  toward  Norse  myths,  and  interest 

in  folklore. 

Livijn :  Early  interest  in  Norse  mythology. 
The  interest  of  various  minor  writers. 

CHAPTER  II   78 

Non-Romantic  interest  in  the  Norse  saga. 

Granberg :  "  Jorund." 

Charlotta  Eleonora  d'Albedyhll :  "  Gefion." 

CHAPTER  III    98 

The  theoretical   problem  of  introducing  Norse  mythology  into 

Swedish  art  and  poetry. 
Foreign  treatises  on  Norse  mythology  versus  the  Greek.     Grater, 

Herder  and  Oehlenschlager. 
Lectures  on  art  by  Hammarskjold  and  Ling. 
"  Eddornas  Sinnebildslara."     Character  of  opposition  to  Norse 

myths. 

Geijer  warns  against  exaggeration  in  the  use  of  Norse  themes. 
The  exhibition  of  national  art,  1818.     Tegner's  views. 

Xi 


Xll 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  IV 125 

Erik  Johan  Stagneliiis:   The   Old   Norse  element  as  a  vehicle 

for  Romanticism. 

The  Norse  element  in  the  epic  "  Blenda." 
The  mythical  poem  "  Gunlog."     The  tragedies  "  Wisbur "  and 

"  Sigurd  Ring."     The  fragment  "  Svegder." 

CHAPTER  V   144 

Nicander  and  Beskow,  with  special  reference  to  the  age  of 
transition  from  Norse  heathenism  to  Christianity,  as  reflected 
in  the  Romantic  dramas  of  these  two  men. 

"  Runesvardet."     The  Old  Norse  element  in  Oldur  Silfverskagg. 

Influence  of  Fouque  and  Oehlenschlager.  Specific  saga  sources 
in  "  Runor  af  Norna-Gest." 

Beskow  "  Hildegard,"  its  Christian  and  pre-Christian  elements. 
Comparison  with  "  Runesvardet."  The  viking  type  in  "  Hilde- 
gard." 

CONCLUSION 17° 

APPENDIX   173 

BIBLIOGRAPHY    185 

(i)  For  this  study  in  particular.  (2)  For  Swedish  Romanti- 
cism in  general. 


INTRODUCTION 

FOSFORISM   AND   GOTHISM 

Den  nordiska  renassansen  har  lika  djupa  rotter  som  all  annan 
europeisk  romantik.  Anton  Blanck :  "  Den  nordiska  renassansen." 

The  term  "  Romanticism,"  in  its  broadest  sense,  is  as  vague 
in  Sweden  as  elsewhere,  and  as  a  literary  movement  it  is  im- 
possible to  fix  its  boundary  in  time  or  to  outline  its  program 
with  any  absolute  precision.  Nevertheless,  beginning  about 
1810,  we  can  easily  detect  two  main  tendencies  in  Swedish 
Romanticism;  one  was  called  Fosforism,  after  the  literary 
organ  Fosforos,  and  the  other  we  may  call  Gothism.  The 
former  looked  to  Greek,  Spanish,  Italian,  and  more  especially 
to  German  models,  while  the  so-called  Gothic  School  aimed  to 
have  a  more  exclusively  Scandinavian, i.e.,  "Gothic"  character. 

Both  schools  were,  in  a  sense,  national ;  both  strove  for  origi- 
nality and  independence,  opposed  the  correct,  Gustavian,  Acad- 
emicians, and  looked  forward  toward  a  new  era  in  Swedish 
letters.  The  Fosforists  lauded  the  work  of  their  Swedish,  as  well 
as  of  their  German,  progenitors  and  brought  many  a  hitherto 
obscure  name  into  greater  prominence.  Of  course  the  policies 
of  both  schools  were  reactionary;  Fosforists  and  Goths  alike 
were  dissatisfied  with  existing  conditions  and  pined  for  some- 
thing new.  But  what  they  had  in  mind  turned  out  to  be  the 
old — the  medieval  or  the  primitive.  As  in  Germany  and  Eng- 
land, then,  Swedish  Romanticism  was  retrospective ;  but  in  Swe- 
den medievalism  was  merely  incidental  or  second-hand;  more 
often  the  new  pathfinders  in  Sweden  went  beyond  the  Middle 
Ages  and  studied  early  Oriental  religion  and  philosophy;  they 
sought  for  new  interpretations  of  the  ancient  classics,  or,  like 
the  Goths,  they  limited  their  attention  to  the  Scandinavian 
countries  and  studied  Norse  mythology. 

The  principles  of  Fosforism  had  been  in  the  making  for  at 
least  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  they  finally  burst  out  into 

1 


an  open  revolution  about  1810.  The  most  obvious  manifesta- 
tions of  the  approaching  storm  were :  an  increasing  interest  in 
German  and  English  literature,  a  growing  hostility  toward 
French  models  and  frequent  emphasis  on  feeling,  originality, 
and  imagination.  The  preceding  century  had  been  the  age  of 
enlightenment  in  Sweden  and  the  dominating  tone  had  been 
entirely  French.  The  Academy  of  Belles-Lettres  (Vitterhets- 
Akademien),  which  had  been  founded  by  Queen  Louise  Ulrika 
in  1753,  had  been  reorganized  and  enlarged  in  1786  by  Gustavus 
III.,  and  was  modeled  after  the  French  Academy.  The  Swed- 
ish capital,  therefore,  under  the  dictatorship  of  the  Swedish 
Academy,  continued  to  mold  literature  according  to  French  rhe- 
torical systems.  In  so  doing,  it  undoubtedly  performed  a  noble 
and  necessary  mission;  it  gave  Swedish  literature  both  style 
and  form.  But  with  the  end  of  the  French  Revolution  and  the 
death  of  Gustavus  III.  in  1792,  many  patriots  began  to  feel 
that  the  French  style  had  prevailed  long  enough;  that  it  was 
getting  a  bit  abstract,  mechanical,  and  monotonous,  and,  there- 
fore, undesirable. 

One  of  the  first  to  break  with  the  French  taste  and  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  a  new  literary  movement  was  Thomas  Thorild 
(1759-1808).  He  was  no  creative  artist,  but  an  original 
thinker,  who  had  a  keen  appreciation  of  life  and  art.  In  his 
controversy  with  the  Academicians  Leopold  and  Kellgren  he 
gradually  disabled  the  adherents  of  the  Old  School  and  antici- 
pated the  New  by  stirring  up  enthusiasm  for  Klopstock  and 
Ossian.  As  a  pupil  of  Rousseau,  Thorild  worshipped  in  him 
a  "  Romantic  "  favorite,  who  had  escaped  the  fate  of  the  other 
Frenchmen.  Bengt  Lidner  (1757-1793),  an  irregular,  Byronic 
type  of  poet,  had  already  shown  his  skill  in  depicting  strong 
passion  and  unbridled  sentimental  feeling.  With  marked  ar- 
dency of  expression  and  richness  of  invention  he  described  the 
half -despairing  sufferings  of  the  human  soul.1  Another  of  the 
eighteenth  century  poets,  and  the  greatest  of  them  all,  to  receive 
special  recognition  by  the  Romantic  School  was  Karl  Michael 
Bellman  (1740-1795).  He  was  thoroughly  original,  popular, 
and  national.  His  bachanalian  poetry  showed  great  genius 

i  Cf.  L.  Hammarskjold :  "  Svenska  vitterheten,"  2d  ed.,  pp.  402-3. 


and  depth,  and  Hammarskjold  believed  that  this  "  Swedish 
Anacreon"  had  grasped  the  very  essence  of  the  Swedish  na- 
tional life.1 

In  the  meantime,  German  and  English  authors  were  being 
read  more  and  more,  both  in  the  original  and  in  translation. 
An  acquaintance  with  Gellert,  Haller,  Hagedorn,  Holty,  Burger, 
Jean  Paul,  Goethe  or  Schiller  led  to  the  study  of  Tieck,  Novalis 
and  the  brothers  Schlegel.  "Werther"  was  translated  into 
Swedish  as  early  as  1786;  Klopstock's  "  Messias,"  1789-1792; 
Ossian,  1789-1794;  translations  of  Young  and  Sterne  had  ap- 
peared by  1790,  and  during  the  next  two  decades  the  German 
philosophers  Kant,  Fichte,  and,  more  particularly,  Schelling, 
rose  rapidly  in  favor  along  with  the  younger  group  of  German 
Romanticists.  Calderon,  Ariosto,  Petrarch,  Tasso,  Dante,  Rous- 
seau, and  Shakespeare  receive  considerable  attention  and  the 
otherwise  satirical  and  unfeeling  Clas  Livijn  was  moved  to 
tears  at  the  reading  of  "  Wilhelm  Meister."2  W.  F.  Palmblad, 
one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  new  school,  likewise  melted 
into  tears  at  reading  Lafontaine's  novels  and  Kotzebue's 
dramas.3 

On  October  7,  1807,  a  number  of  congenial  souls,  saturated 
with  enthusiasm  for  German  philosophy  and  the  new  German 
Romanticism,  met  in  Uppsala  and  formed  the  society  Musis 
Amici.  It  was  really  a  "new  edition"  of  a  similar  organization 
that  had  existed  from  1803-1806  called  "  Vitterhetens  Vanner  " 
or  "Friends  of  Belles  Lettres,"  and  its  leader  was  the  seventeen- 
year-old  Atterbom,  of  whom  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak 
later.  The  following  year  the  name  of  the  society  was  changed 
to  "  Auroraf orbundet "  (a  name  which  explains  itself)  and, 
as  the  members  believed,  a  more  definite  outline  of  its  program 
was  drawn  up.  The  purpose  of  the  Forbund  was : 

"  in  accordance  with  firm  and  eternal  principles,  gathered  from 
Greek  and  German  models,  first  to  ennoble  and  develop  the  strength 
[of  the  Forbund],  then  to  work  energetically  against  the  depraved 
taste  [of  the  time],  and  finally,  at  least  with  a  bright  ray  in  the  sky 

1  Ibid.,  p.  342. 

2  Cf.  G.  Frunck :  Nya  skolans  forberedelser  och  forsta  utveckling,  p.  14. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  39. 


of  Swedish  literature,  to  indicate  the  path  of  the  approach  of  the 


sun."1 

From  now  on  we  have  a  militant  organization  of  Romanti- 
cists. With  a  sincere  purpose,  but  in  a  somewhat  vainglorious 
style,  and  often  the  most  unscrupulous  polemics,  the  new  group 
set  out  to  overthrow  the  old  systems  and  to  infuse  the  new 
Schelling-Tieck-Novalis  spirit  into  Swedish  letters. 

Beginning  with  1810,  for  about  a  decade,  there  raged  a  feud 
between  the  literary  conservatives  and  radicals,  of  such  inten- 
sity and  recklessness  that  it  probably  outstripped  its  German 
model  in  this  respect.  The  Academicians,  led  by  P.  A.  Wall- 
mark,  voiced  their  sentiments  in  the  Journal  for  Litteraturen 
och  Teatern  (after  1813  called  Allmdnna  Journalen)  and  the 
principal  organs  of  the  Aurora forbund  were,  in  the  order  of 
their  first  appearance:  Poly  fern  (from  Polyphemus,  the  one- 
eyed  giant  who  looks  straight  ahead)  ;  Fosforos  (originally 
spelled  "Phosphoros")  ;  Poetisk  Kalender;  and  Svensk  Lit- 
ter atur-Tidmng.  Much  has  been  written  on  this  interesting 
controversy.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that,  in  aspiration,  the  radi- 
cals, now  called  Fosforists,  were  generally  right;  that  both  sides 
expended  a  wealth  of  energy  and  exhibited  great  wit  in  their 
polemics,  but  were  often  bitter  and  unjust  in  their  method. 
Naturally  the  battle  was  most  violent  at  the  beginning,  as  in 
Poly  fern;  Fosforos  adopted  a  less  aggressive  policy  and  aimed 
to  show  in  original  poems  and  reviews  what  Polyfem  did  in 
polemics.  The  chief  characteristic  of  the  Polyfem  policy  was 
a  satirical,  merciless  attack  on  everything  French  and  on  every- 
body of  French  sympathies.  Hence,  the  old,  rationalistic 
school,  the  Swedish  Academy,  and  its  protege,  "the  'dry  Boi- 
leau "  Leopold,  were  criticized  beyond  all  reason.  No  little 
talent  was  displayed  in  this  struggle,  however,  and  everyone 
will  find  that,  for  the  most  part,  the  polemics  of  the  Fosforists 
are  far  more  fascinating  than  their  poems.2 

Toward  the  end  of  the  feud  Tegner,  the  sponsor  of  clearness, 

1  Ibid.,  p.  32. 

2  Rudolf  Hjarne,  in  "  Gotiska  forbundet,"  page  230,  calls  attention  to 
the  temporary  confusion  in  the  literary  camp,  brought  about  by  the  "  blind 
self-confidence "   of  the   Fosforists,   and  adds  that  their  poetry  "  hovered 
between  heaven  and  earth  without  belonging  to  either." 


attacked  the  vagueness  of  the  Romantic  theories,  so  that  after 
1820  the  Fosforistic  School  had  practically  ceased  to  exist  as 
a  militant  institution.  But  its  ideas  lived  on  in  its  efficient 
leader  Atterbom,  who,  during  the  following  decade,  was  des- 
tined to  produce  the  work  par  excellence  of  this  phase  of 
Swedish  Romanticism,  namely,  "The  Isle  of  Bliss"  (Lyck- 
salighetens  O).  This  poem  was  a  long  but  splendid  treat- 
ment, in  dramatic  form,  of  a  Celtic  fairy-tale;  it  was  not  free 
from  satirical  references  to  contemporary  conditions  in  art  and 
society,  but  it  teemed  with  beautiful  lyric  passages  and  con- 
tained the  philosophical  ideas  of  the  movement.  But  what  had 
the  Fosforists  as  a  body  really  accomplished,  and  what  had  been 
the  character  of  their  creative  achievements  ? 

In  spite  of  strenuous  opposition  the  Fosforists  had  returned 
from  the  battlefield  with  a  victory  for  Swedish  culture.  And 
it  was  natural  that  they  should;  they  had  nothing  to  lose  and 
everything  to  gain.  By  their  zealous  encouragement  of  Ger- 
man literature  and  philosophy  a  wholesome  spirit,  more  akin 
to  the  Scandinavian  temperament,  had  been  infused.  Some 
members  of  the  Old  School,  to  be  sure,  had  known  the  German 
classics  before  the  Romantic  School  was  born;  but,  barring  a 
few  translations,  they  seem  to  have  kept  their  knowledge  mostly 
to  themselves.  The  Fosforists,  on  the  other  hand,  stirred  up 
things  by  publicly  proclaiming  the  value  of  the  new  gospel. 
Fosforism,  like  many  aspects  of  Romanticism  in  Germany, 
stood  for  a  deeper  meaning  and  spirituality  in  life  and  letters ; 
it  stood  for  the  irrational,  for  the  eternal  and  infinite,  for  the 
identity  of  nature  and  spirit,  for  the  divinity  of  art  and  poetry, 
for  mystical  longing,  for  freedom  and  religiosity.  Sweden  is 
indebted  to  Fosforism  for  a  profound,  healthy,  quickening  im- 
pulse to  both  her  literature  and  her  literary  criticism,  and  for 
inaugurating  the  serious  study  of  esthetics. 

The  failings  of  the  Fosforists  were  numerous  and  serious, 
and  an  impartial  critic  must  often  deal,  therefore,  with  theo- 
retical aspirations  rather  than  with  actual,  positive  accomplish- 
ments. No  original  masterpiece  was  produced  within  Fosfor- 
istic circles  until  several  years  after  the  polemic  storm  had 
passed  away ;  that  is,  not  until  Fosforism,  in  its  more  restricted 
2 


6 

sense,  had  disappeared.  Here  and  there,  indeed,  a  lyrical  gem 
made  its  appearance.  Hedborn  had  a  gift  for  the  picturesque 
and  wrote  some  choice  hymns,  the  consumptive  Per  Elgstrom 
was  an  excellent  colorist,  and  his  poems  revealed  an  elegiac, 
melancholy,  or  mystic  style;  but  these  were  not  great  poets. 
Neither  did  Hammarskjold,  the  law-giving  Friedrich  Schlegel 
of  Swedish  Romanticism,  exhibit  any  marked  creative  ability. 
He  was  too  busy  mapping  out  programs,  ridiculing  French 
taste,  and  attacking  Alexandrines  to  do  anything  really  original, 
and  Palmblad's  literary  contributions  were  mostly  reviews  and 
translations.  Atterbom,  the  life-long  leader  and  the  greatest 
of  the  Fosforists,  was  the  most  prolific  writer,  but  his  poetry 
was  often  obscure  and  his  best  work,  mentioned  above,  did  not 
appear  until  he  was  a  middle-aged  man.  We  see,  then,  that 
Fosforistic  activity  was  largely  polemic  and  negative  in  its  char- 
acter; beyond  this  it  was  imitative,  critical,  and  metaphysical. 
To  what  extent  the  Fosforists,  and  other  poets  who  actively 
sympathized  with  them,  were  influenced  by  German  Romanti- 
cism, may  best  be  seen  by  calling  attention  to  a  few  additional 
features  of  the  Swedish  movement.  The  Schlegels,  Tieck, 
Novalis,  and  the  classical  German  authors  are  lauded  to  the 
skies  and  quoted  as  authorities  at  every  opportunity.  The 
atmosphere  is  full  of  Stimmungspoesie  with  constant  reference 
to  the  invisible  or  infinite.  Odndlighet  (Unendlichkeit)  is  the 
prevailing  keynote  in  the  Romantic  poetry  of  Sweden.  As  in 
Germany,  much  of  it  was  unintelligible,  and  this  is  particularly 
noticeable  in  the  earliest  poems  of  Atterbom,  as  in  some 
strophes  of  the  Prolog  to  Fosforos.  Moonlight,  twilight,  dark- 
ness, and  night  appealed  also  to  the  Uppsala  youngsters,  and 
rich  coloring  was  a  common  phenomenon.  Johan  David  Va- 
lerius (1776-1852)  was  criticized  for  moralizing  his  drinking 
songs,  showing  a  tendency  toward  the  "Lucinde"  system  of 
morality;  and  here  and  there  we  discover  a  strong  poetic 
sympathy  for  the  Holy  Virgin  and  Catholicism.  Spanish  and 
Italian  authors  were  studied  and  translated,  and  this  led  to 
experimentation  in  all  kinds  of  Southern  verse-forms.  The 
terza-rima  and  canzone  were  introduced  in  the  spirit  of  oppo- 
sition to  Alexandrines,  and  sonnets  were  written  by  the  score. 


The  November  number  ofFosforos  for  1810  opens  with  twenty 
sonnets  by  Atterbom. 

In  their  hostility  to  French  forms,  the  Fosforists  often  went 
to  the  other  extreme,  and  they  have  been  severely  criticized  for 
being  literary  slaves  of  Germany.  There  proved  to  be  no  ulti- 
mate danger  in  this  relation,  however,  for,  in  the  first  place, 
the  Fosforists  did  not  succeed  in  fulfilling  all  their  most  radical 
promises.  Then,  too,  there  are  differences  between  the  Ger- 
man parent  and  its  Swedish  offspring  showing  a  certain  inde- 
pendence, and  that  some  of  the  foreign  Romantic  seed  had 
fallen  by  the  wayside,  so  far  as  absolute  imitation  was  con- 
cerned. Original  productions  among  the  younger  Swedish 
Romanticists  were  almost  exclusively  lyrical,  not  only  in  con- 
tent but  also  in  form.  "Wilhelm  Meister"  was  hailed  with 
joy  in  Sweden  as  well  as  in  Germany,  but  it  produced  no  imi- 
tation of  its  genre  in  Sweden.  Sweden  had  no  formless 
Romanpoesie  in  the  narrow  sense  of  the  term ;  though  Swedish 
poetry  teemed  with  apotheoses  of  its  own  art,  we  find  no  enthu- 
siast like  Ofterdingen  and  no  peripatetic  and  almost  fanatic 
"knight  of  the  moon "  like  Franz  Sternbald.  In  some  of  these 
respects,  it  seems  to  me,  Swedish  Romanticism  became  more 
sober  and  sensible  than  that  of  Germany,  though  it  may  have 
been  due  to  a  lack  of  genius  that  this  type  of  the  novel  was  not 
developed.  As  already  observed,  Swedish  Romanticists  were 
not  theoretically  opposed  to  a  freer  morality,  but  practically 
they  led  as  regular  lives  as  other  people  and  had  no  such  do- 
mestic troubles  as  some  of  their  German  masters.  Elgstrom 
died  young  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  but  Atterbom  and 
Hedborn  lived  long  and  happy  lives  in  wedlock.  None  of  the 
Fosforists  joined  the  Catholic  Church,  though  Hammarskjold 
and  Atterbom  were  both  much  impressed  by  it. 

Interest  in  Scandinavian  antiquity  formed  only  one  part  of 
the  pretentious  Fosforistic  program  and,  as  this  review  is  in- 
tended to  show,  this  was  often  subjective  and  allegorical.  The 
Goths,  however,  confined  themselves  to  this  one  part  and  aimed 
to  make  it  objective,  a  fresh  and  living  phenomenon  in  Swedish 
culture.  It  will  be  in  order,  therefore,  to  describe  briefly  the 
history  and  characteristics  of  the  Gothic  School. 


8 

The  Gothic  School  (Gotiska  Forbundet)  was  founded  in 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1811.  The  members  of  this  brother- 
hood met  and  adopted  a  constitution  on  February  16.  "A 
morally  patriotic  thought,"  or  spirit,  was  to  be  the  kernel  of 
the  Society,  and  paragraph  3  of  the  statutes  provided  that  every 
Brother  should  consider  himself  "  absolutely  in  duty  bound  to 
investigate  the  sagas  and  chronicles  of  the  old  Goths,"  mean- 
ing by  the  "  Goths,"  the  old  Norse  ancestors ;  hence  the  name 
of  the  movement.1  Its  leader  was  the  chancery-clerk  Jakob 
Adlerbeth,  trained  in  love  for  his  fatherland  from  early  youth. 
Men  of  any  profession,  possessing  some  striking  "  Gothic " 
qualification,  were  eligible  to  membership,  though  authors  and 
artists  were  especially  desired.  Eventually  new  members  were 
elected  to  the  number  of  one  hundred.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
Fosforists,  the  enthusiasm  was  greatest  at  the  start;  the  year 
1811  is  both  the  beginning  and  the  culmination  of  the  general 
interest  in  the  society.  Sixteen  meetings  were  held  the  first 
year,  thirteen  the  second,  but  after  1825  no  more  than  five 
meetings  were  ever  held  in  any  one  year.  But  the  activity  con- 
tinued with  considerable  force  for  about  a  dozen  years  after 
the  founding  of  the  Forbund,  and  during  this  time  ten  volumes 
of  its  literary  organ,  Iduna,  appeared.  After  the  formal  disso- 
lution of  the  society  in  1844  there  appeared  an  eleventh  and 
last  number  in  1845. 

The  "  Gothomania,"  as  it  was  sometimes  called  at  first,  was 
characterized,  like  Fosforism,  by  one-sidedness  and  exaggera- 
tion. Scandinavian  antiquity  was  to  be  resuscitated,  not  only 
in  art  and  poetry,  but,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  life ;  not  only  was 
Icelandic  literature  to  be  studied,  but,  whenever  possible,  the 
viking  customs  were  to  be  revived.  Naturally  the  Goths  took 
the  initiative  at  their  regular  meetings.  Each  Gothic  Brother 
first  adopted  the  name  of  some  heathen  forefather,  and  was 
supposed,  within  three  months  after  his  election  to  member- 
ship, to  give  a  discourse  on  his  ancestral  namesake  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  society.  This  pagan  name  was  used  in  address, 
both  at  the  meetings  and  in  private  correspondence  among  the 
members.  Thus  Tegner  became  Bodvar  Bjarke ;  J.  P.  Lef ren, 

i  See  Hjarne:  Gotiska  forbundet,  pp.  n  and  15. 


9 

Guttorm;  D.  Nordin,  Sigfried;  P.  H.  Ling,  Bosi;  Adlerbeth, 
Rolf;  J.  H.  Wallman,  Helge;  and  Geijer,  Einar  Tambaskjal- 
ver.  Tremendous  enthusiasm,  not  to  say  boisterousness,  pre- 
vailed at  all  gatherings,  and  the  character,  courage,  manliness 
of  the  original  inhabitants  of  Sweden  were  constantly  empha- 
sized. The  members  drank  mead,  both  out  of  individual  horns 
and  out  of  a  common  vessel  called  "  Bragebagaren"  (theBrage- 
cup)  and  saluted  each  other  in  appropriate  heroic  terms. 
Sometimes  the  meetings  were  held  out  of  doors ;  then  stones 
were  carried  together  and  placed  in  a  circle  to  represent  a 
primitive  Norse  Thing  or  court.  At  the  reading  of  poems  with 
national  or  patriotic  themes,  or  upon  hearing  the  results  of 
investigations  in  the  Swedish  past,  the  Brothers  gave  unbounded 
applause.  At  times  they  waxed  sentimental;  it  is  said  that 
Geijer  in  reading  Tegner's  "Nore"  had  to  stop  for  tears.1 

The  literary  leaders  of  the  Gothic  movement  were  Tegner, 
Ling,  and  Geijer.  The  first  two  took  an  active  part  in  the 
management  of  the  society,  but  after  a  time  Ling  resigned  his 
membership  for  reasons  which  will  be  discussed  later.  But  in 
his  research  work  Ling  continued  to  be  the  very  personification 
of  an  exaggerated  Gothism,  and  his  poems  continued  to  receive 
applause  in  Gothic  circles.  Strangely  enough,  Ling  contributed 
but  one  article  to  Iduna.  This  was  published  in  1814,  and  the 
subject  was  "  Gymnastics."  In  the  interim  this  periodical  had 
already  contained  some  of  the  best  poems  ever  composed  in  the 
Swedish  language.  Geijer,  the  real  chief  in  1811,  published 
"The  Viking"  (Vikingen),  "The  Last  Skald"  (Den  siste 
skalden),  and  "The  Last  Combatant"  (Den  siste  kampen),  in 
the  first  number,  and  later,  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  decade, 
when  fragments  of  "  Frithiof 's  Saga"  appeared,  they  were 
published  in  the  Iduna.  The  fourth  great  Goth  was  A.  A. 
Afzelius  (1785-1871),  a  clergyman  and  author  of  the  popular 
"The  Reel  of  the  Water-Sprite"  (Nackens  polska).  He 
eventually  translated  the  Elder  Edda  but  did  his  best  work  in 
Swedish  folklore.  Together  with  Geijer  he  published,  in 
1814-16,  a  large  collection  of  Swedish  folksongs  ("  Svenska 
folkvisor")  in  three  volumes. 

1  See  Hjarne:  Gotiska  forbundet,  p.  21. 


10 

The  Gothic  movement  in  Sweden  was  merely  one  way  of 
expressing  the  spirit  of  independence  and  nationality  that  arose 
all  over  Europe,  as  a  protest  against  rationalism,  cosmopoli- 
tanism, and  Napoleonic  oppression.  After  1806  the  Swedes 
were  involved  in  the  continental  wars,  through  their  German 
possessions.  Then  came  the  loss  of  Finland  and  the  Swedish 
revolution  of  1809.  No  wonder,  then,  that  national  disasters 
should  help  prepare  the  soil  for  patriotic  utterances  of  any  sort. 
Now,  as  Hjarne1  rightly  contends,  the  best  method  to  reawaken 
a  national  self-consciousness  is  to  revive  the  memory  of  what 
has  produced  a  great  people  in  the  past.  The  Gothic  School, 
therefore,  was  enthusiastically  welcomed,  especially  by  the 
young,  even  if  some  old  and  prejudiced  conservatives  looked 
with  fear  and  suspicion  on  the  re-introduction  of  a  pagan  sys- 
tem of  mythology.  The  Goths  did  a  tremendous  amount  of 
good  by  stimulating  interest  in  the  Scandinavian  saga-age  in 
general,  and  Swedish  antiquity  in  particular.  Every  true  pa- 
triot wanted  to  know  something  about  the  Asa-doctrines,  the 
Eddas,  and  the  life  of  the  viking  ancestors.  Runes  were  de- 
ciphered and  heathen  relics  collected.  Though  unsuccessful 
in  his  attempt,  the  consistent,  militant  manager  of  the  society, 
Adlerbeth,  tried  to  have  a  learned  Icelander  imported  to  give 
instruction  in  Old  Norse.  Manuscript  treasures  were  opened 
up  and  gradually  the  vehemence  of  youth  gave  way  to  a  calm, 
scientific  spirit  of  investigation.  For  instance,  Afzelius  pub- 
lished in  the  third  volume  of  Iduna,  both  text  and  translation 
of  "  Vgluspa  "  from  the  Elder  Edda,  after  they  had  both  been 
inspected  by  the  Danish  philologist  Rask.  Snorre  Sturleson's 
"  Heimskringla  "  was  published  by  men  outside  of  the  society 
and  was  probably  influenced  by  it.2 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  case  of  the  Fosforists  the  main 
foreign  influence  was  German;  with  the  Gothic  School  it  was 
Danish.  Anton  Blanck,  in  his  excellent  dissertation  on  "The 
Northern  Renaissance"  (see  bibliography),  has  shown  the  in- 
creasing popularity  of  Northern  themes  in  French,  English, 
German,  and  Danish  literature  during  the  eighteenth  century. 

1  Gotiska  forbundet,  p.  9. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  38-9. 


11 

Indirectly,  all  these  foreign  tendencies  converge  toward  the 
Gothic  movement  in  Sweden,  but  directly,  and  mostly  through 
the  literary  work  of  Oehlenschlager  during  the  first  'decade  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  outside  influence  came  from  Denmark. 
We  shall  return  to  this  topic  in  connection  with  the  chapter 
on  art. 

In  Denmark  the  new  German  Romanticism  and  the  national 
movement  were  fused  in  one  person,  Oehlenschlager,  with  the 
balance  of  power  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  national  element. 
In  Sweden  these  two  tendencies,  to  be  sure,  were  centered  in 
two  literary  factions,  but  their  propagandists  often  combined 
forces,  and  at  times  we  find,  as  in  Denmark,  both  Gothic  and 
Fosforistic  ideas  in  the  same  poet.  The  Goth,  Ling,  was  a 
Romanticist  in  spite  of  himself ;  Geijer,  after  the  first  patriotic 
ecstacy  had  subsided,  was  more  of  a  Fosforist  than  a  Goth; 
Afzelius  contributed  to  both  Fosforos  and  Poetisk  Kalender, 
and,  in  turn,  Atterbom  and  Hammarskjold  contributed  to 
Iduna.  Nicander,  an  active  member  of  the  Gothic  School,  had 
a  genuine  Romantic  longing  for  the  South,  and  hostile  critics 
when  they  attacked  one  movement  generally  attacked  the  other. 
Often  the  two  worked  sympathetically  side  by  side,  or  they  felt 
at  liberty  to  make  friendly  encroachments  upon  each  other's 
territory.  Both  were  prompted  by  ardent  search  for  "  det 
ursprungliga." 

The  work  of  the  Swedish  Romanticists  in  the  field  of  Scan- 
dinavian antiquity  was  not  one  of  discovery;  it  was  a  revival 
movement.  It  was  an  enthusiastic  attempt  to  crush  any  spirit 
of  indifference  that  prevailed  toward  the  culture  of  the  pre- 
Christian  ages  in  Scandinavia,  and  to  rekindle  a  spirit  of  pride 
in  the  past.  What  the  Romanticists  sought,  was  to  arouse  a 
more  general  and  permanent  popularity  in  Old  Norse  themes 
among  their  countrymen  and  to  make  a  more  thorough  study 
of  the  original  sources.  An  interest  in  Norse  mythology  and 
history  had  existed,  however,  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  for 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  before  the  "  Goths  "  took  up  the 
subject.  To  be  sure,  it  was  spasmodic,  the  conceptions  now 
and  then  were  based  on  misunderstanding,  and  the  conclusions 
were  often  speculative  in  the  extreme;  but  the  evidence  of  a 


12 

Gothic  inclination  was  there,  and  it  will  repay  us  to  review 
briefly  this  evidence  before  we  proceed  to  the  revival  in  Sweden 
during  the  Romantic  period.1 

During  the  decade  1750-1760,  when  so  many  Romantic  tend- 
encies began  to  assert  themselves  in  Europe,  we  begin  to 
detect  an  interest  in  Norse  antiquity.  In  fact,  northern  bar- 
barian literature  by  virtue  of  its  wildness  and  power  becomes 
one  of  the  most  effective  weapons  in  the  struggle  against  classi- 
cism.2 Paul-Henri  Mallet,  a  Swiss,  gave  the  impulse  for  the 
study  of  the  Scandinavian3  past  when  he  published  in  1755  his 
"  Introduction  a  1'histoire  de  Danemarc."  In  addition,  Mallet 
made  several  translations  from  the  Eddas  and  showed  a  love 
for  the  Old  Norse  religion.  He  made  the  mistake,  however, 
of  regarding  the  Scandinavian  as  a  branch  of  the  Celtic  family. 

In  England,  Percy's  interest  in  Old  Norse  was  due  to  Mal- 
let's book,  which  was  translated  by  Percy  in  1770.  In  the 
meantime  Percy  had  published  in  London  (1763)  "Five  Pieces 
of  Runic  Poetry,"  translated  from  the  Icelandic.  "The  Bard" 
(1754-1757),  by  Gray,  had  likewise  a  Norse  as  well  as  a  Celtic 
element.  Gray  himself  states  that  he  borrowed  from  the 
Norse4  and  he  made  two  translations, — "  The  Fatal  Sisters  " 
and  "  The  Descent  of  Odin."  The  Ossianic  poems  teem  with 
viking  elements,  and  Blanck  asserts  that  Macpherson  obtained 
"the  apparatus"  for  his  Celtic  epic  from  Gray  and  Mason.5 
Frank  Sayers  (1763-1817)  published  in  1790  "Dramatic 
Sketches  of  Northern  Mythology,"  containing  three  minor 
dramatic  efforts,  all  localized  on  Celtic  or  Northern  territory.6 
A  translation  from  a  Latin  version  of  the  poetic  Edda  by 
Amos  Cottles  appeared  in  Bristol  in  I797-7  William  Herbert, 

1  A  part  of  this  introduction  is  based  on  Anton  Blanck's  "  Den  nordiska 
renassansen,"  Uppsala,  1911,  and  is,  in  a  sense,  a  review  of  the  most  im- 
portant data  of  this  work.     Blanck's  investigation  covers  433  pages,  plus 
an  extensive  bibliography.     I  am  much  indebted  to  Blanck  for  that  part 
of  the  history  which  precedes  the  year  1810.     His  results  and  references 
have,  of  course,  been  verified  whenever  possible. 

2  See  Blanck,  p.  39. 

3  "  Scandinavia  "  throughout  this  study  is  to  be  taken  in  the  old,  broad 
sense,  naturally,  including  Denmark  and  Iceland. 

4  Cf.  Blanck,  p.  84. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  ii2. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  119. 

7  Ibid.,  pp. 


13 

who  had  mastered  the  Scandinavian  languages  and  could  use  the 
Icelandic  sources,  was  the  first  Englishman  to  take  advantage 
of  this  knowledge,  and  published  in  1804-1806,  in  his  "  Mis- 
cellaneous Poetry,"  some  selections  entitled  "  Select  Icelandic 
Poetry."  According  to  Lockhart,  Scott  studied  Scandinavian 
mythology  and  wrote  essays  and  read  papers  on  the  subject 
as  early  as  1792 ;  but  all  thus  far,  with  the  exception  of  Herbert, 
had  followed  in  Gray's  footsteps  and  used  only  secondary 
sources. 

Fr.  David  Grater  (see  below),  in  his  "  Nordische  Blumen," 
refers  on  page  xi  to  a  free  English  translation  of  "  Lodbrockar- 
Qvida  "  by  the  Reverend  James  Johnstone,  A.M.,  published  in 
1782.  Blanck  does  not  mention  Johnstone  at  all,  but  from 
an  article  in  the  "  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,"  Vol. 
XXX,  p.  78,  by  Thompson  Cooper,  we  obtain  the  following 
information : 

James  Johnstone  (d.  1798),  a  "Scandinavian  antiquary,  was 
a  Master  of  Arts,  though  of  what  university  is  not  stated,  and 
a  clergyman  of  the  established  church.  For  several  years  he 
was  chaplain  to  the  English  envoy  extraordinary  in  Denmark." 
He  was  afterwards  rector  in  Ireland.  From  1780-1786  he 
published  in  Copenhagen,  London,  or  Edinburgh,  six  different 
works  on  Scandinavian,  Celtic,  and  Celto-Norman  literature 
and  antiquity,  consisting  both  of  originals  and  translations. 
The  translation  to  which  Grater  refers  contained  also  "  a  literal 
Latin  version,  and  an  Icelando-Latino  Glossary  and  Notes." 
Johnstone's  first  work,  which  appeared  in  1780  in  Copenhagen, 
bore  the  title  "Anecdotes  of  Olave  the  Black,  King  of  Man, 
and  the  Hebredian  Princes  of  the  Somerled  Family.  To  which 
are  added  Eighteen  Eulogies  on  Haco,  King  of  Norway;  by 
Snorre  Sturleson,  poet  to  the  monarch ;  now  first  published  in 
the  original  Icelandic;  from  the  Flateyan  and  other  Manu- 
scripts; with  a  literal  version  and  Notes."  I  have  not  seen 
these  editions  myself. 

Independent  of  any  impulse  from  England  there  arose  a 
northern  renaissance  in  Germany,  where  Gottfried  Schiitze 
(1719-1784)  became  an  important  pioneer  mediator  between 
the  old  school  and  the  new.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Joh.  Georg 


14 

Keyssler,  the  author  of  "  Antiquitates  selectae  septentrionales 
et  celtae"  (1720),  was  a  well-read  scholar,  and  published  in 
German  a  popular  exposition  of  Norse  mythology.  Schiitze 
made  no  distinction  between  the  Celts  and  the  Germans ;  even 
the  old  Norsemen,  according  to  him,  had  both  druids  and  bards, 
and  this  mistake  was  no  doubt  responsible  for  much  of  the  later 
confusion  in  this  field.  Schiitze's  real  importance  was  as  teacher 
of  Gerstenberg,  whose  "Gedicht  eines  Skalden"  (1766)  marks 
the  beginning  of  a  new  literary  genre  in  Germany.  Blanck 
devotes  several  pages  to  a  discussion  of  Gerstenberg's  work. 

German  interest  in  the  North  is  closely  connected  with  the 
worship  of  Ossian,  and  this  is  well  illustrated  in  Gerstenberg's 
pupil,  Klopstock.  His  "  Hermannschlacht "  (1769)  is  a  mix- 
ture of  the  antique,  Ossian,  and  the  North.  But  Klopstock 
had  no  sense  for  the  historic  or  the  characteristic  and  his  Norse 
divinities  are,  for  the  most  part,  mere  names.1  Michael  Denis 
translated  some  Icelandic  poems,  such  as  "Vgluspa"  and 
"  Vegtamskvida."  The  so-called  "  Bards,"  such  as  Karl  Fried- 
rich  Kretschmann,2  and  the  "  Gottinger  Hain  "  worked  along 
the  same  lines  as  Klopstock,  but  with  both  groups  of  poets  the 
Ossianic  element  predominates.  This  is  likewise  the  case  with 
Herder3  who,  in  "  Von  deutscher  Art  und  Kunst"  (1773),  pub- 
lished "tiber  Ossian  und  die  Lieder  alter  Volker."  But  in 
Herder's  famous  cosmopolitan  collection  of  folksongs,  "  Stim- 
men  der  Volker,"  as  it  was  called  in  the  second  edition  of  1785, 
we  find  some  of  distinctly  Norse  origin,  and  indeed  some  from 
Greenland.  It  was  Herder  who  in  Strassburg  called  Goethe's 
attention  to  the  Eddaic  poems  and  gave  him  a  copy  of  Resenius's 
Edda.4  Herder  distinguished  himself  from  his  predecessors 
by  using  more  scientific  material  and  adopting  an  historical 

1  Cf.  ibid.,  p.  158. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  i6iff. 

3  For  Herder  see  ibid.,  pp.  164-179. 

4  See  "  Dichtung  und  Wahrheit,"  Weimar  edition,  Vol.  28,  p.  143.     In  the 
same  passage  we  learn  that  Goethe  was  much  interested  in  saga  material, 
and  that  he  was  already  acquainted  with  Mallet.     The  Edda  mentioned  was 
an  edition  by  the  Dane  Per  Resenius   (1625-88)   of  Copenhagen.     It  con- 
tained the  original  of  the  Snorre  Edda  together  with  a  Latin  and  Danish 
translation  by  two  other  scholars.     Resenius  published  in   1683  a  Lexicon 
islandicum  by  the  Icelander  Gudmundus  Andreae  (d.  1654).     Cf.  article  on 
Resenius  by  Weiss  in  Bibliographic  Universelle,  Nouvelle  edition,  Vol.  35. 


15 

method  of  study.  He  exhibited  much  independence  of  thought 
even  if,  as  Blanck  believes,1  Mallet  was  his  main  reliance. 

Herder's  originality  of  thought  becomes  of  special  interest 
when  we  compare  his  views  on  Norse  mythology  with  those  of 
the  cautious  and  classic  Scandinavian  critics  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Romantic  period.  In  "  Iduna  oder  der  Apfel  der  Ver- 
jiingung,"  published  in  1796  in  Die  Horen,  Herder  states  the 
objections  to  the  coarse  and  grotesque  in  the  new  mythology, 
but  sees  several  motives  worthy  of  artistic  treatment.  The 
Northern  characteristics,  he  finds,  are  deeds  and  strength  of 
soul.  But  the  Norse  gods  should  not  have  greater  prominence 
than  other  poetic  systems.  Greek  mythology  was  not  to  lose 
its  incontestable  rank,  but  Herder  pleads  for  a  recognition  of 
the  Norse  system  proportional  to  its  importance.  The  raw  and 
barbarian  element  must  be  sacrificed.  This  same  idea  is  em- 
bodied in  "Zutritt  der  nordischen  Mythologie  zur  neueren 
Dichtkunst"  (Adrastea  X  1803).  It  will  be  essential  to  re- 
member Herder's  views  when  we  discuss  the  new  mythology 
and  art. 

Friedrich  David  Grater  ( 1768-1830) 2  was  something  more 
than  a  dilettant  in  Norse  subjects  and  did  some  work  of  real 
scientific  importance.  He  acquired  a  good  philological  train- 
ing ;  he  studied  Danish  and  Old  Norse  and  his  "  Nordische 
Blumen"  of  1789  contained  translations  from  the  1787  edition 
of  the  Edda  published  by  the  Arne-Magnussen  Foundation. 
Although  the  character  of  the  original  is  rather  sparsely  pre- 
served the  translations  show  very  conscientious  work.  In 
1791-1812  appeared  his  organ  Bragur,  Ein  literarisches  Maga- 
zin  der  deutschen  und  nordischen  Vorzeit,  in  eight  numbers, 
but  it  contained  little  of  value  for  the  North.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  Idunna  und  Hermode  (1812-16),  which  contained, 
as  did  Bragur,  reviews,  translations,  and  minor  articles.3  Kose- 

1  Blanck,  p.  176. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  i79ff. 

3  According  to  Herder,  Grater's  "  Northern  Flowers "  were  received  with 
an  "  almost  unreasonable  "  frigidity.     Cf.  "  Zutritt  der  nordischen  Mythol- 
ogie zur  neueren  Dichtkunst"  in  "  Sammtliche  Werke  "  (Suphan  edition), 
Vol.  24,  pp.  312-313.     In  a  footnote  on  page  312,  Herder  refers,  among 
others,  to  a  Karl  von  Miinchhausen,  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the 
new  mythology. 


16 

garten  (1758-1818),  in  his  "Gedichte"  (1788),  published  a 
part  of  Ragnar  Lodbrok's  death-song,  and  Fouque's  "  Sigurd  der 
Schlangentodter,"  the  first  part  of  a  trilogy  "  Der  Held  des 
Nordens,"  appeared  in  1808.  In  the  meantime  the  Edda-trans- 
lation  of  the  brothers  Grimm  was  being  advertised  and  the 
period  of  German  dilettantism  in  Norse  mythology  was  over.1 

The  North  does  not  play  a  very  large  role  in  French  litera- 
ture of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  fact,  up  to  1800,  when 
Madame  de  Stael's  "  De  la  litterature  "  appeared,  the  "  cold  and 
distant  north  "  remained  in  a  hazy  gloom  and  the  interest  in 
it  was  merely  one  of  curiosity.2  Nevertheless,  the  influence  of 
Mallet's  work  is  noticeable  in  France  also.  In  the  didactic 
novel  "  L'Arcadie "  by  Bernardin  de  Saint-Pierre,  Norse  my- 
thology is  introduced,  but  the  work  was  of  little  consequence. 
Comte  de  Tressan,  in  1782,  published  an  Icelandic  novel :  "  His- 
toire  de  Rigda  et  de  Regner  Lodbrog,  Roi  de  Danemarc,"  being 
the  fourth  part  of  "  Corps  d'extraits  de  romans  de  chevallerie." 
Madame  de  Stael  was  really  the  first  to  give  the  French  an  idea 
of  the  Norse  spirit,  and  her  main  authority  was  Mallet.  But 
she  believed  religiously  in  the  genuineness  of  Ossian  and  held 
that  Ossianic  and  Icelandic  literature  greatly  resembled  each 
other.  Hence  there  came  about  a  nebulousness  of  conception 
similar  to,  if  not  worse  than,  the  initial  conception  in  Germany. 
Among  the  dii  minor es  that  followed  in  this  field  "  Norse  "  and 
"  Ossianic  "  must  have  been  taken  often  as  synonymous  terms.3 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  impulse  to  revivify  the  Old 

1  In  the  Harvard  University  library  there  is  a  volume  on  the  Edda  with 
the  following  title :   "  Abhandlung  abgefasst  in  einem   Schreiben  an  einen 
Gelehrten  von  der  alten  Islandischen  Edda."     It  was  published  in  Halle 
and  Leipzig,  and  the  date,  written  in  lead  pencil,  is   1774.     The  name  of 
the  author,  likewise  written  with  lead  pencil,  is  given  as  Jakob  Schimmel- 
mann.     I   have  been  unable  to   find  any   reference  to   such   a  student  of 
Icelandic  literature.     Blanck  does  not  mention  him.     The  work  deals  with 
questions  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Eddas  and  manuscripts  in  Uppsala  and 
Copenhagen.     It  also  raises  the  query  whether  the  German  edition  prom- 
ised from  Stettin  may  be  expected  soon.     It  is  of  special  interest,  since 
it  contains  sketches  of  Thor,  Odin,  and  Frigga. 

2  Cf.  Blanck,  p.  185. 

3  In  addition  to  Blanck,  the  subject  of  the  North  in  French  literature 
has  been  investigated  by  Gunnar  Castren  in  "  Norden  i  den  franska  littera- 
turen,"  Halsingfors,  1910. 


17 

Norse  element  in  Denmark  should  have  come  from  a  for- 
eigner; but  such  seems  to  have  been  the  case,  for  it  was  the 
sojourn  of  Klopstock  in  Copenhagen  that  became  the  imme- 
diate incentive  for  the  Norse  poetry  of  Johannes  Ewald  (1743- 
1781).  In  a  way,  as  Blanck  points  out,1  this  was  but  a  loan, 
for  the  Dane,  O.  F.  Miiller,  had  previously  furnished  the  hint 
for  Gerstenberg's  "  Gedicht  eines  Skalden  "  and  Klopstock  was 
a  pupil  of  Gerstenberg.  But  the  fact  remains  that  the  effective 
influence  at  the  time  came  from  Germany,  and  "  Rolf  Krage  " 
(1769)  by  Ewald  exhibits  unmistakable  similarities  to  Klop- 
stock's  productions.  The  Celtic  influence  is  very  marked; 
Ossian  plays  a  large  sentimental  role  and  the  whole  is  unhis- 
torical.  Whereas  Oehlenschlager  three  decades  later  used 
Danish,  Norwegian,  and  Icelandic  subjects,  Ewald  limits  him- 
self to  Danish,  using  Saxo  as  his  main  source.  His  knowledge 
of  Norse  antiquity  was  very  superficial;  he  confused  myth  and 
saga  and  like  his  model  made  no  clear  differentiation  between 
the  Celtic  and  the  Norse.  The  same  nebulous  northern  tone 
reigns  in  " Balder's  Death"  (Raider's  D0d),  1773.  Blanck 
has  also  detected  an  influence  of  Shakespeare  on  Ewald. 

After  the  death  of  Ewald,  Denmark  produced  no  great  poet 
until  we  come  to  Oehlenschlager.  Between  these  two  was  a 
reactionary,  classical  period  of  didacticism  and  satire,  and 
during  the  decade  beginning  1780  the  rationalistic  tendency, 
under  the  leadership  of  the  Norwegian  Society,2  gained  the 
ascendancy.  Some  interest  in  Norse  literature  still  prevailed, 
however,  though  the  method  of  treatment  as  well  as  the  general 
attitude  toward  the  saga  had  become  different.  P.  F.  Suhm 
(1728-1798),  a  contemporary  of  Ewald,  and  famous  for  his 
exhaustive  work  in  the  early  history  of  Denmark,3  created  the 
novelette  with  northern  theme,  but  his  style  is  entirely  unro- 
mantic  with  hardly  any  trace  of  Ossian.4  Pram,  inspired  by 

1  Cf.  Blanck,  pp.  is6ff,  and  p.  200. 

2  So  called  because  its  chief,  Johan  Herman  Wessel   (b.   1742),  was  a 
Norwegian. 

3  His  history  of  Denmark  contains  fourteen  volumes,  though  it  extends 
only  to  the  year  1400. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  220.     With  respect  to   Suhm's  work,  Dr.  Horn  says :   "  The 
most  remarkable  are  his  Norse  tales,  which  made  a  certain  sensation,  not 
only  because  they  were  new,  but  also  on  account  of  their  sentimental  style, 


18 

Wieland,  published  (1785)  "  Staerkodder,  et  digt  i  femten 
sange,"  which  was  the  most  important  creation  in  the  Norse 
field  during  the  rationalistic  period.1  Even  satire  pounced 
upon  northern  subjects  and  Jens  Baggesen's  famous  "The 
Origin  of  Poetry"  (Poesiens  oprindelse)  is  a  mythological 
parody  based  on  Wieland's  "  Komische  Erzahlungen."  Blanck 
points  out  that  Baggesen's  picture  of  Gunlode  influenced 
all  successors,  and  especially  Ling  in  Sweden.2  O.  J.  Samso'e 
(1759-1796)  wrote  three  novelettes  with  Norse  themes,  of 
which  the  first,  "Frithiof,"  written  in  the  decade  beginning 
1780,  was  based  on  the  Icelandic  Frithiof -saga. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Danes  did  much  work  during 
the  last  quarter  of  the  century  in  Old  Scandinavian  history  and 
philology.  And  this  is  but  natural ;  Icelanders  had  to  come  to 
Copenhagen  to  study,  a  fact  which  in  itself  was  an  incentive  to 
keep  up  ancient  traditions.  Manuscripts  were  deciphered  with 
great  zeal  and  profit,  and  the  Arne-Magnussen  Foundation  fur- 
nished financial  support.  The  latter  published  its  renowned 
editio  princeps  of  the  Edda  in  1787,  Sh^ning's  edition  of 
the  "  Heimskringla "  had  appeared  in  1777,  Rasmus  Nyerup's 
"Review  of  the  most  Ancient  Poetry  and  Literature  of  the 
North"  (Udsigt  over  nordens  aeldste  poesi  og  des  litteratur), 
1791,  the  "  Snorre  Edda,"  by  Nyerup  and  Rask,  1808,  not  to 
mention  the  influential  literary  work  of  Oehlenschlager,  which 
begins  along  with  the  new  century.  We  shall  have  occasion  to 
return  to  Oehlenschlager  later. 

Swedish  interest  in  the  saga  element  can  be  traced  back  to 
the  seventeenth  century;  a  century  which,  in  many  respects, 
was  the  golden  age  of  Sweden.  During  the  beginning  of  the 
Stjernhjelm  period  (1640-1740),  Stjernhjelm  (1598-1672) 
himself  had  attempted  Icelandic  as  a  basis  for  a  prose  style  but 
was  not  very  successful.3  The  significant  fact,  however,  was 

which  was  anything  but  genuine  Norse,  but  they  happened  to  satisfy  the 
taste  of  that  period."  ("  History  of  the  Literature  of  the  Scandinavian 
North,"  p.  203.) 

1  Ibid.,  p.  223. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  230. 

3Cf.  Schiick:  in  Introduction  to  "Svensk  national-litteratur "  (Sv.  N. 
L.),  Vol.  VI,  p.  5. 


19 

the  actual  discovery  of  the  Icelandic  literature  about  this  time, 
and  as  common  property  of  the  North  it  was  called  "Gothic" 
(Gotisk).  Schuck  writes : 

"A  multitude  of  Icelandic  sagas,  mostly  from  the  period  of 
decline  in  Icelandic  literature,  were  then  translated  into  Swedish, 
although  only  a  small  number  were  printed,  and  one  needs  only  to 
read  the  catalogs  of  several  of  the  libraries  of  the  nobility  to 
find  how  immensely  popular  these  Icelandic  sagas  were  at  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth."1 

In  fact,  Schuck  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  inasmuch  as  most  of 
the  novel  literature  during  this  period  circulated  in  manuscript 
form,  and  time  for  making  copies  was  inexpensive  in  the  coun- 
try, one  might  claim  without  exaggeration  that  the  Icelandic 
saga  was  the  novel  of  the  Swedish  Carolingian  age.2  But  the 
popularity  of  the  saga,  at  least  among  investigators,  was  pseudo- 
historical  rather  than  literary  or  critical,  and  the  "  Golden  Age  " 
produced  no  literary  expression  of  its  sympathies  for  the  Norse 
element.  We  may  assert  that,  both  among  ordinary  readers 
and  among  the  more  educated  classes,  this  sympathy  was 
prompted  by  an  indefinite  and  patriotic  feeling  of  curiosity  for 
an  unknown,  fabulous  antiquity.  This  feeling,  as  is  well 
known,  had  been  aroused  during  the  last  quarter  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  by  a  group  of  men,  antiquarian  in  their  inten- 
tions, and  of  whom  the  most  important  was  the  fantastic  poly- 
histor  Olof  Rudbeck  the  Elder  (1630-1702),  in  whose  Atlantica 
( 1 675-1 702  )3  fabulous  historiography  was  carried  to  its  cli- 
max. The  spirit  of  Rudbeckianism  that  followed  reigned  up 
to  about  1760,*  i.  e.,  for  almost  a  century.  This  spirit  of 
"  Rudbeckianism,"  or  unbounded  patriotism  and  faith  in  Swe- 
den as  the  cradle  of  all  civilization,  must  be  understood  if  we 
are  to  comprehend  a  second  form  of  it  during  the  Swedish 
Romantic  period.  The  foremost  Romanticist,  Atterbom,  a 
"Fosforist"  and  not  a  formal  "Goth,"  had  great  admiration 

1  H.    Schiick:    "Den   gotiska   skolan "   in  "  Ur  gamla   papper."     Sjette 
serien,  p.  218. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  218. 

3  Rudbeck's   specialty  was  medicine   and   at  twenty-two   he   discovered 
the  system  of  lymphatic  vessels.     Bartholin,  a  Danish  scholar,  claimed  the 
same  honor  at  about  the  same  time. 

*Blanck,  p.  316. 


20 

for  Rudbeck's  efforts  and  devotes  244  pages  of  his  "  Biogra- 
phies and  Lectures"1  to  an  appreciation  of  Rudbeck's  unsci- 
entific but  fascinating  investigations.2 

But  there  was  a  well-marked  Norse  tendency  before  Rud- 
beck.  A  royal  decree  of  November  23,  1666,  provided  for  the 
preservation  of  antiquities,  including  saga  material  and  viking 
songs  ("Kampa-och  historie-visor,").3  Among  the  pioneers 
in  this  line  was  Verelius  (1618-1682),  who  published  the 

1  P.  D.  A.  Atterbom  :   "  Minnesteckingar  och  tal."  Forra  bandet :   "  Minne 
af  Olof  Rudbeck  den  aldre."  Orebro,  1869. 

2  For  the  benefit  of  readers  who  may  not  be  acquainted  with  Rudbeck's 
"  Atlantica,"  a  brief  word  of  elucidation,  based  on  Atterbom's  characteri- 
zation, may  be  in  order.     First,  as  to  the  name.     While  engaged  in  his- 
torical  investigation   Rudbeck   discovered   a   similarity   in   names   between 
those  in  Plato's  mythical  "Atlantis,"  the  seat  of  his  ideal  republic,  and 
those  of  certain  localities  in  Sweden   (cf.  Horn,  History  of  the  Literature 
of  the  Scand.   North,  p.   340).     Immediately   Rudbeck  conceived  the  idea 
that   Paradise  had  been   located   in   Sweden   and    (undoubtedly   influenced 
by  an   earlier  Johannes   Magnus,   who   tried  to  make  similar  deductions) 
that  Noah's  grandson  Magog  had  founded  the  Magogian,  i.  e.,  Gothic  king- 
dom in  Sweden  and  from  there  the  whole  world  had  been  populated.     In 
other  words,  all  culture  came  from  Sweden  and  was  then  transmitted  to 
the   Greeks  by  the   Phenicians.     The   whole  work  teemed   with   ingenious 
etymologies   and  there  is   said  to   be   a  remarkable  coincidence  in  names 
between  Rudbeck's  sources  and  the  Norse  terms.     Rudbeck  tries  to  identify 
classic  and  Norse  myths  by  the  linguistic  method.     He  even  attempts  to 
connect  the  Swedish  word  "  Necken  "  (a  musical,  male  water-sprite)  with 
"  Noach  "  (Noah),  both  being  lords  of  the  water.     But  even  if  his  imagi- 
nations ran  wild  at  times,  Rudbeck's  effort  was  a  most  serious  one,  and 
his  work  shows  some  desultory  knowledge  about  the  Edda,  Norse  mythol- 
ogy and  history,  and  about  Icelandic  scholars,  such  as  Samund  Frode  and 
Brynjolf   Svenson.     The  work  was  too   gigantic  and  was  never  finished; 
it  appeared  in  four  immense  parts,  of  which  the  last  is  a  fragment.     Part 
I  alone  had  891  pages  with  tables  and  drawings.     As  it  was,  the  enthu- 
siastic author  was  unable  to  carry  his  history  farther  than  to  Abraham. 
Rudbeck's    "  Atlantica,"    naturally,    created    a    tremendous    excitement    all 
over  Europe.     Many  believed  in  it,  others  doubted,  and  again  others  re- 
garded  it   as    colossal   foolishness,   while   the   more   credulous   and   super- 
patriotic  Swedes  felt  proud  and  delighted.     But  indirectly,  the  "  Atlantica  " 
had  an  historical  value,  for  it  prompted   further  research,  and  Atterbom 
(Lefnadsteckningar  och  tal.  Forra  bandet,  p.  71)  gives  Rudbeck  credit  for 
inaugurating  a  new  epoch  in  the  investigation  of  antiquity.     Through  the 
suggestion  of  Rudbeck  many  Icelandic  sagas  were  printed  between   1673- 
1700,   some  at  his  own   expense   (ibid.,   p.    171).     For  the  details   of  this 
interesting  work  I  refer  to  Atterbom's  review.     I  believe  Atterbom  to  have 
many  qualities  in  common  with  Rudbeck;  a  matter  which  we  shall  take  up 
in  the  first  chapter. 

3  Cf.  Atterbom :  Minnesteckningar  och  tal.,  pp.  83ff. 


21 

"Hervarar  Saga"  in  1672,  and  it  was  from  him  that  Rudbeck 
received  the  impulse  for  his  work.  Atterbom  believed  Vere- 
lius  to  be  "a  most  thorough  interpreter  of  the  runes  and  the 
newly  discovered  Icelandic  literature."1  Johan  Perinskjold 
(1654-1720)  published  the  editio  princeps  of  SnorreVHeims- 
kringla,"  and  Johan  Hadorph  collected  rune-stone  material. 
Rudbeck's  attempt  to  prove  that  classic  mythology  was  nothing 
but  a  distorted  Swedish  system  served  to  heighten  the  national 
feeling,  even  if  the  fundamental  facts  in  the  attempt  were 
spurious.  As  a  consequence,  a  super-heated  patriotism  lived 
on,  and  with  it  an  interest  in  Norse  literature.  J.  H.  Mork 
(1714-1763),  a  Rudbeckian,  and  Sweden's  first  novelist,  wrote, 
in  1742-1745,  "Adalrik  and  Gothilda,"  an  original  novel  with 
an  heroic  national  motive  from  Northern  antiquity.  Bjorner's 
"Tales  of  Combat"  (Kampadater)  had  appeared  in  1737,  and 
Goranson  published  Snorre's  Edda  in  1746  and  Vpluspa  in 
1750.  As  Schuck  points  out,  Mork's  novel,  Verelius's  "  Her- 
varar Saga,"  and  Bjorner's  "Tales  of  Combat"  were  read  with 
pleasure  in  the  country  districts  as  late  as  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  both  Tegner  and  Atterbom  got  their 
first  impressions  from  them.  "  Here  was  a  channel,  then, 
which  connected  Rudbeck's  time  with  that  of  Geijer."2  After 
1750  the  rise  of  a  critical  school,  led  by  such  men  as  Dalin,  was 
rapidly  putting  an  end  to  speculation  and  a  decade  later  Rud- 
beckianism  had  practically  disappeared. 

Now,  for  a  number  of  years,  there  was  no  fruitful  experi- 
mentation with  saga  elements.  Then  comes  Olof  Rudbeck, 
(1750-1777),  the  great-grandson  of  Rudbeck  the  Elder,  who, 
"  during  his  last  days,"  devoted  himself  to  "  the  zealous  study 
of  Old  Norse  literature."3  Uno  von  Troil,  Archbishop  of  Up- 
psala (d.  1803),  had  won  a  reputation  in  a  series  of  letters 
(Uppsala,  1777)  about  Iceland  which  were  later  translated 

1  Ibid.,  p.  89. 

2  "Den  gotiska  skolan,"  pp.  218-19.     On  page  219,  also,  Schiick  recalls 
the  movement  in  Germany  that  was  parallel  to  Rudbeckianism  in  Sweden, 
namely,  the  fanatic  Schwarmerei  for  German  antiquity  aroused  by  Tacitus's 
"  Germania."     Then  Lohenstein,  the  Edda  and  Ossian,  all  served  to  inten- 
sify this  enthusiasm  and,  finally,  all  were  united  in  the  poetry  of  Klopstock. 

3  L.  Hammarskjold :  Svenska  vitterheten,  2d  edition,  p.  292. 

3 


22 

into  both  German  and  French.1  Finally,  a  temporary  impulse 
for  a  resuscitation  of  "  Gothic  "  material  came  directly  after 
1777,  when  Ossian  was  translated  into  Swedish.  The  influence 
of  Ossian2  and  Rousseau  were  to  be  prominent  characteristics 
of  the  Gothic  tendency  thereafter. 

G.  G.  Adlerbeth  (1751-1818),  the  father  of  the  leader  of  the 
Gothic  School,  translated  Eyvindr  Skaldaspiller's  "  Hakonar- 
mal "  in  1783,  which  was  printed  in  Stockholms-Posten  in  1790. 
Adlerbeth  detects  an  intimate  relationship  between  the  Ossianic 
and  the  Icelandic  songs  of  combat,  and  in  the  northern  litera- 
ture he  sees  the  "  strong  and  bold  natural  features  "  of  primi- 
tive man.3  The  first  serious  effort  to  employ  Norse  myths  in 
modern  Swedish  poetry  was  in  Clewberg-Edelcrantz's  "  Ode  to 
the  Swedish  people"  (Ode  till  svenska  folket;  Stockholm, 
1786).  Clewberg  was  influenced  by  Gray,4  but  it  is  not  known 
with  certainty  what  his  sources  were.  He  was  but  poorly 
acquainted  with  Norse  mythology,  for  he  confuses  Odin  and 
Thor.5  Johan  Gabriel  Oxenstjerna  (1750-1818),  in  his  "The 
Harvests"  (Skordarne),6  glorifies,  in  true  Rousseau  style,  the 
"Scythians"  (Skyterna)  as  the  first  inhabitants  of  Sweden 
and  as  founders  of  Swedish  agriculture.  Both  Oxenstjerna 
and  Adlerbeth  tried  to  depict  the  prototype  of  the  Swedish 
farmer.  The  imagination  of  Thomas  Thorild  (1759-1808),  a 
disciple  of  Ossian,  must  have  been  influenced  by  Rudbeck's 
"  patriarchal  conception  of  the  farmers."7  To  this  glorification 
of  the  primitive  agriculturist  the  Swedish  poets  were  incited 
by  the  Norwegian  Society,8  which  had  introduced  the  farmer- 
type  into  Norwegian  popular  poetry.  And  with  less  difficulty 
than  in  Sweden :  for  the  free  Norwegian  tiller  of  the  soil  en- 

1  Cf.  Hermes,  Leipzig,  1823,  Nr.  XVII,  p.  242  (Kritisch-historische 
Uebersicht  des  Zustandes  der  schwedischen  Literatur  seit  dem  Anfange 
dieses  Jahrhunderts,  by  Hammarskjold.) 

2Cf.  Blanck,  p.  316. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  319. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  329. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  331. 

6  For  an  outline  of  the  history  of  this  Alexandrine  poem,  see  Blanck, 
p.  34  iff-     The  first  version  was  written  in  Vienna  in   1772-3,  though  not 
printed  until  1796. 

7  Ibid.,  p.  410. 

8  Cf.  above,  note  2,  p.  17. 


23 

joyed  a  greater  prestige,  comparatively;  he  came  nearer  the 
embodiment  of  the  Rousseau  ideal,  and  the  exaltation  of  him 
gained  favor  more  rapidly  than  in  a  country  governed  by  the 
nobility.1  The  Rousseau  spirit  is  very  striking  in  an  important 
and  interesting  article  entitled  "The  Golden  Age  of  Sweden 
during  the  Reign  of  the  Lodbrok  Dynasty  in  the  Tenth,  Elev- 
enth, and  Twelfth  Centuries,"  which  appeared  in  Vol.  4  of 
"  Publications  of  the  Society  for  the  Popularization  of  General 
Knowledge"  ( 1794-1798) .2  Here  three  pagan  centuries  are 
represented  as  an  enviable,  paradisian  age,  with  the  detri- 
mental results  of  civilization  lacking.3  There  was  no  poverty, 
no  class  distinction,  not  too  many  officials,  and  all  the  rudi- 
ments of  a  true  religion,  though  heathen,  were  present.  The 
fact  that  such  a  laudatory  exposition  of  the  viking  period  re- 
ceived considerable  attention  is  not  surprising.4 

Even  the  correct  Gustavians  employed  the  Norse  saga  element 
in  a  superficial  way.  The  king  himself  did  not  meddle  se- 
riously with  Norse  themes,  but  representations  of  Swedish 
antiquity  were  to  be  included  in  the  national  repertoire  of  the 
theater.  But  all  such  representations  proved  utterly  devoid  of 
historical  truth  or  local  color,  and  the  King's  "  erotic  bagatel " 
"Frigga"  (1783)  is  nothing  but  the  imitation  of  a  classic 
where  the  name  of  Jupiter  has  been  changed  to  Odin.5  Sev- 
eral dramatists  of  the  king's  coterie  adopted  Norse  themes,  but 
with  the  same  result.6  The  most  important  one  of  these  was 
Gustaf  af  Leopold's  tragedy  "  Oden,"7  which  made  its  debut 
at  the  Royal  Theater  in  1790.  There  is  nothing  historical  in 
it  except  the  pretended  journey  of  the  Asa-tribe  from  the 
Black  Sea  to  Scandinavia,  at  the  time  of  Pompey.  The  scene 

1  Cf.  ibid.,  pp.  416  and  4i8ff. 

2  Swedish  name  of  periodical :  Skrifter  af  sallskapet  for  allmanne  med- 
borgerlige   kunskaper,"    and   that    of    the   article :    "  Sveriges    lyckliga    tid- 
hvarf   under    Lodbrokiske    konungaattens    regering   uti    9 :  de,    io:de,    och 
1 1 :  te  arhundraden." 

3  Cf.  G.  Ljunggren :  Svenska  vitterhetens  hafder,  Del  III,  pp.  394-5. 

*  Blanck  states  very  significantly  that  the  Gothic  School  in  Sweden  was 
the  most  complete  expression  "  of  this  national  Rousseauism,"  p.  428. 

5  Blanck,  p.  351. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  355. 

7  Cf.  Appendix :  Notes  on  Leopold. 


24 

is  laid  in  Asia  and  Pompey  himself  is  introduced  into  the 
drama.  "Oden"  was  written  according  to  the  French  style 
in  Alexandrines,  and  so,  in  spite  of  its  name,  it  gained  but  little 
sympathy  from  the  Romanticists.  The  last  of  the  Gustavian 
efforts  in  this  line  was  Adlerbeth's  "  Ingiall  Illrada"  (1799)  ; 
and  it  was  not  much  of  an  improvement  over  its  literary  pat- 
terns in  the  same  genre,  but  it  did  have  a  tendency  toward 
local  color. 

For  the  sake  of  a  certain  completeness  there  remains  to  be 
mentioned,  in  this  connection,  a  few  names  of  miscellaneous 
character.  Thorild,  to  whom  we  referred  a  moment  ago, 
should  be  remembered  as  a  precursor  of  the  "  Goths  "  through 
his  work  on  local  folksongs  ( 1805-1806). 1  Hammarskjold 
mentions  a  Matthias  Bjugg,  who  was  "nourished  by  love  for 
Norse  antiquity."2  At  the  close  of  the  century  A.  E.  Afzelius 
urged  the  use  of  Norse  mythology  in  modern  poetry,  and  ven- 
tured to  compare  the  classic  myths  and  the  new.3  He  praised 
Dalin,  Fru  Nordenflycht,  Gyllenborg,4  and  Leopold  for  experi- 
ments along  this  line.  Peter  Tham  and  Magnus  Adlerstam 
were  two  dilettants  in  the  investigation  of  the  saga.  The 
former  was  really  a  pupil  of  the  remote  Rudbeck  with  no  defi- 
nite remarkable  work  to  his  credit,  but  a  man  who  acquired  a 
name  by  his  originality  and  enthusiasm  for  Swedish  antiquity. 
Tham  was  finally  elected  to  membership  in  the  Gothic  For- 
bund.5  Jakob  Fredrik  Neikter,  in  1785  librarian  and  pro- 
fessor of  literature  at  the  University  of  Uppsala,  published 
in  1793-1799  a  very  romantic-sounding  Latin  treatise,  "De 
gente  antiqua  Troll,"  in  six  parts,  showing  a  scientific  interest 
in  the  primitive  man  himself.  The  "  Trolls  "  were  supposed 
to  be  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  Scandinavia,  who  had  been 
forced  to  recede  to  the  innermost  parts  of  the  forests  by  the 

1  "  Gotamannasanger  eller  dalvisor."     They  were  published  in  Geijer's 
edition  of  folksongs,  1819.     See  p.  404  and  note  2.  on  same  page. 

2  Svenska  vitterheten,  26.  ed.,  p.  420. 
s  Cf.  Blanck,  pp.  sgSfi. 

4  The  Norsism  of  these  three  had  no  more  intrinsic  value  than  that 
of  Leopold. 

5  Tham  had  a  quarrel  later  with  Ling  about  the  location  of  the  ash-tree 
Yggdrasil,  the  Tree  of  Time  in  Norse  mythology,  whose  branches  extend 
over  the  whole  world.     Tham  claimed  it  was  located  near  Dagsnas,  Tham's 
home.     The  quarrel  was  symbolic  of  the  time. 


25 

coming  of  the  Asas.1  Neikter  also  published  a  number  of 
geographico-historical  treatises  (1791-1 800), all  in  Latin, about 
the  early  history  of  Scandinavia  and  Iceland  in  general,  and 
about  Sweden  in  particular.  Blanck  thinks  it  possible  that 
Geijer  learned  some  of  his  Icelandic  from  Neikter.2  Nils 
Henrik  Sjoborg,  professor  of  history  at  the  University  of 
Lund,  did  much  for  the  study  of  Icelandic  in  the  southern  part 
of  Sweden.  His  "Introduction  to  a  Knowledge  of  the  An- 
tiquities of  the  Fatherland,"3  a  valuable  book  for  its  time, 
appeared  in  1797,  and  his  Icelandic  grammar  in  1804-1806.* 

It  might  appear  at  first  from  the  above  compilation  that  an 
actual  "  revival "  of  the  saga  element  was  unecessary.  But  at 
close  range  it  becomes  evident  that  much  of  the  activity  thus 
far  had  lacked  the  essentials  of  permanency.  Something  had 
been  done  in  Old  Norse  philology  and  history,  but  much  of  it 
was  superficial  and  unscientific,  and  examples  of  original 
"  Gothic  "  poetry  with  any  positive  value  were  extremely  rare. 
After  all,  the  number  of  connoisseurs  and  champions  of  the 
indigenous,  legendary  material  was  small,  and,  unlike  other 
subjects,  the  cult  of  the  saga  had  not  attained  a  place  in  litera- 
ture, or  among  the  Swedish  people,  commensurable  with  its 
value.  Sjoborg  had  tried  to  keep  up  Norse  traditions  at  Lund, 
and  Neikter  at  Uppsala,  and  both  must  have  had  some  influ- 
ence on  their  younger  contemporaries,  but  Blanck  declares  (in 
speaking  of  the  condition  at  Uppsala)  that  the  "  knowledge  of 
Icelandic  during  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  had 
almost  died  out."5  What  had  been  accomplished  before  1810 
in  Sweden,  then,  could,  at  the  most,  serve  only  as  an  introduc- 
tion for  the  more  intensive  and  general  work  of  the  next  gen- 
eration. It  was  left  for  the  Romanticists  to  introduce  the  local 
color,  life,  vitality,  and  spirit  that  would  give  the  saga  element 
an  undisputed  place  in  Swedish  literature. 

1  Blanck,  pp.  252-3. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  297. 

3  "  Inledning  till  kannedom  af  faderneslandets  antiquiteter." 

4  "  Grammaticae  islandicae  electa."     Other  publications  of  Sjoborg  were : 
"Rigsmal"  (1801)  ;  "  Lodbrokar-Qvida  "  (1802),  translated  and  edited  with 
glosses;  "  Gautamal  lingua  antiqua  scandinaviae  "  (1811). 

5  Blanck,  p.  297. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  INTEREST  OF  THE  FOSFORISTS  IN  SCANDINAVIAN 
ANTIQUITY 

Var  nya  skola  egde  emellertid  i  sig  sjelf  ett  sa  starkt  nationelt 
element,  att  den  vid  sidan  af  den  romantiska  dikten  forstod  att 
uppsoka  det  fait,  som  for  den  skandinaviska  norden  eger  en  sa  stor 
betydelse  och  for  densamma  ar  sarskildt  utmarkande,  namligen  det 
fornnordiska  lifvets  verk  och  anda.  Afven  deruti  hade  den  nya 
skolan  ett  stort  utmarkande  drag  och,  ehuru  bestridd  dess  fortjenst 
i  detta  fall  ar,  vaga  vi  dock  pasta,  att  man  afven  mycket  fran  det 
hallet  far  taga  den  i  betraktande.  Borje  Norling:  "Nya  skolan 
bedomd  i  literaturhistorien." 

The  so-called  Fosforists  have  never  been  given  full  credit  for 
what  they  accomplished  in  anything,  and  certainly  not  for  what 
they  did  in  familiarizing  their  countrymen  with  Scandinavian 
antiquity.  Since  their  interest  in  Norse  antiquity,  folklore 
and  early  Scandinavian  literature  was  only  one  number  on 
their  program,  it  has  been  an  easy  matter  for  hostile  and  unin- 
formed critics  to  cover  up  this  tendency  with  a  savage  invective 
against  their  hobbies  and  faults,  such  as  German  philosophy, 
Catholicism,  and  obscurantism.  That  any  good  could  come 
from  a  Fosforist  is  a  matter  of  skepticism  even  to-day  in  Scan- 
dinavia, and  in  the  past  literary  critics  have  usually  assumed 
that  no  beneficial  impulses  or  influences  of  any  kind  could  ever 
emanate  from  such  a  source.  Especially  is  this  true  with  re- 
spect to  the  Fosforists'  interest  in  "  Gothic "  material,  which 
has  been  either  ignored,  treated  superficially,  or  misrepresented. 
This  is  illustrated  in  Malmstrom's  "Grunddragen  af  svenska 
vitterhetens  historia"  (IV  and  V),  and  in  the  bitter  anti- 
Fosforist  Fryxell's  "  Bidrag  till  Sveriges  litteraturhistoria." 
The  former  (V,  24)  gives  all  the  credit  to  the  influence  of  the 
Gothic  School  upon  Fosforists.  "To  be  sure,"  says  Malm- 
strom,  "  we  can  discover  certain  sympathies  in  the  writings  of 

26 


the  [New]  School  for  our  northern  song  and  saga  before  [the 
existence  of  the  Gothic  Society]  but  only  scattered  traces." 
But  he  did  not  stop  to  characterize  these  traces  and  took  for 
granted  that  they  were  of  no  consequence.  Fryxell  goes  even 
further  and  answers  "Atterbom's  legitimate  claim  to  some 
honor  for  his  work  in  folklore  "  with  ridicule1  and  a  charge  of 
unimportance. 

Literary  historians,  also,  have  imagined  an  impassable  chasm 
between  the  Fosforists  and  the  Goths ;  that  their  doctrines  were 
irreconcilable,  that  activity  in  one  of  these  circles  excluded,  for 
the  most  part,  any  activity  in  the  other,  and  that  anything  of 
value  was  accomplished  by  the  Goths  only.  We  know  this  to 
be  false;  if  anything,  the  converse  is  true.  With  respect  to 
an  interest  in  national  treasures,  the  Fosforists  and  Goths  were 
twin  brothers,  with  the  birthright  in  favor  of  the  Fosforist. 
Against  the  prevalent  misconception  in  the  matter  there  came 
a  vigorous  protest  in  1880  from  Borje  Norling,  whose  views 
are  summed  up  in  the  quotation  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 
In  the  last  part  of  the  second  chapter  of  "  The  New  School " 
(Nya  skolan),  Norling  calls  attention  to  the  customary  exag- 
geration of  differences  between  the  two  new  tendencies,  and 
points  out  how  these  tendencies  often  dovetailed  into  one 
another,  and  how  their  standard-bearers  contributed  gladly  to 
each  others'  periodicals.  Unfortunately,  however,  Norling 
devotes  only  about  nine  pages  to  this  large  topic  and  his  com- 
mendable crticism  could  serve  only  as  an  indicator  and  not  as 
a  permanent  demonstration  of  the  misconception.  A  more 
recent  protest  against  the  same  injustice  has  been  filed  by 
Henrik  Schtick  in  his  brief  and  popular  article  on  "  The  Gothic 
School"  (Den  gotiska  skolan).2  Schiick  goes  a  step  further 
than  Norling:  he  cannot  deny  the  existence  of  a  formally 
organized  Forbund,  but  questions  radically  the  existence  of  a 
Gothic  School  in  any  real  literary  sense.  Tegner,  Geijer,  and 

i "  Bidrag,"  p.  78.  Atterbom  had  rather  incautiously  called  himself  the 
savior  of  "The  Harp  of  the  North"  (Nordmansharpan).  This  was  the 
name  of  a  collection  of  folksongs  published  in  1816  in  Poetisk  Kalender 
by  Atterbom. 

2  Ur  gamla  papper.  Stockholm,  1904,  pp.  208-220.  It  will  be  observed 
that  this  article,  like  that  of  Norling,  is  very  brief. 


28 

Ling  do  not  count  in  his  estimation;  they  were  too  great,  too 
independent,  and  too  different  from  each  other  to  assume  joint 
leadership  of  any  one  faction.  There  were  some  minor  lit- 
erary men,  technically  enrolled  as  "  Goths,"1  but  "  from  a  lit- 
erary viewpoint  the  (Gothic)  Forbund  was  of  no  importance, 
and  the  majority  of  the  members  were  illiterate."2  This  is  a 
severe  charge  which  certainly  cannot  be  made  against  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Fosforists,  who  could  follow  a  discussion  on 
"  Gothic  "  topics  with  some  intelligence.  And  so,  Schiick  goes 
on  to  say,  "The  New  Romanticists  (meaning  primarily  the 
Fosforists)  were  not  opposed  at  all  to  the  idea  of  revivifying 
the  Old  Norse  poetry  and  saw  in  Iduna,  the  organ  of  the  Goths, 
only  a  companion  in  arms."3  It  is  unhistorical  to  imagine  an 
antagonism  between  "  New-Romanticism  "  and  enthusiasm  for 
Scandinavian  antiquity ;  the  former  includes,  and  is,  in  a  sense, 
the  parent  of  the  latter. 

Norling  and  Schiick,  we  see,  have  anticipated  the  justice 
which  must  came  sooner  or  later  to  the  ill-reputed  Fosforists. 
What  was  the  extent  and  nature,  then,  of  the  Fosforists'  inter- 
est in  the  Old  Norse  element  ?  First  about  the  leader  Atterbom. 

From  his  earliest  infancy,  saga  literature  was  a  favorite 
reading  of  Atterbom.  "At  the  early  age  of  six  years  the  boy 
lay  before  the  fireside  with  Sturleson,  the  Vilkina  Saga,  or 
Pufendorf  s  Universalgeschichte  beside  him."4  But  what  here 
concerns  us  most  is  Atterbom's  national  tendency  as  a  militant 
Romanticist  as  it  appears  in  the  literary  .publications  of  the 
new  movement.  Now,  in  the  very  first  number  of  Fo<sforos, 
there  is  undeniable  evidence  of  this  tendency.  In  Atterbom's 
review  of  Elgstrom's5  pamphlet,  "  A  Great,  Patriotic  Way  of 
Thinking"  (Om  ett  stort,  ett  patriotiskt  tankesatt),  which  is 
as  much  an  "  esthetic  program  for  the  New  School  as  a  review 
of  Elgstrom's  pamphlet,"6  we  find  a  Rousseau-like  apotheosis 

1  Cf.  Chap.  V  of  this  review,  about  Nicander  and  Beskow. 

2  "  Den  gotiska  skolan,"  p.  212. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  213. 

*  Johan  Erik  Thomander :  "  Intrades-Tal  (ofver  Atterbom)  i  svenska 
akademien."  Svenska  akademiens  handlingar  if  ran  ar  1796.  No.  29,  p.  179. 

s  This  minor  Fosforist  did  not  live  long  enough  to  accomplish  much. 
Cf.  Appendii,  note  on  Elgstrom. 

6  Cf.  Gudmund  Frunck :  "  Bidrag  till  kannedom  om  nya  skolans  f 6r- 
beredelser  och  forsta  utveckling,"  p.  71. 


29 

of  early  Swedish  literature.  It  is  written  in  characteristic 
Atterbomian  language — notice  the  epithet  "the  nectar  of 
genius" — and  bears  the  stamp  of  conviction  and  enthusiasm. 
He  writes : 

"We  are  reminded,  namely,  of  an  age  when  Sweden  was  still 
the  kingdom  of  the  Swedes  (Sviars)  and,  if  no  more,  we  wish  at 
least  to  revive  its  old  memories.  We  know  that  Sweden  at  that 
time  possessed  a  literature,  not  for  fun,  or  as  a  plaything  for  full- 
grown  children,  not  as  an  agglomeration  of  contending  masses, 
produced  by  opportunity  and  generated  by  intellectual  need;  but  a 
real  serious  literature,  fostered  by  the  nectar  of  genius  and  pre- 
served by  the  victories  of  thorough  investigation,  an  organic 
example  of  the  ennobling  of  a  powerful  nation.  .  .  .  Philology 
flourished,  and  ancient  monuments  of  our  forefathers  were  brought 
to  light  with  a  religious  zeal  which  the  modern  fashionable  small- 
mindedness  has  tried  in  vain  to  ridicule."1 

This  tone  is,  obviously,  not  one  of  hostility  toward  primitive 
Sweden.  On  the  contrary,  it  leads  us  to  expect  encourage- 
ment from  the  pioneer  investigator  of  Swedish  antiquity. 

To  Atterbom  this  meant  more  often  Scandinavian  antiquity, 
for  he  believed  the  Edda  to  be  just  as  much  a  parent  of  Swedish 
literature  as  of  any  other  Scandinavian  poetry.  According  to 
Atterbom,  the  history  of  Swedish  literature  does  not  begin  in 
the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  but  with  the  Eddas,  and 
thorough  understanding  of  the  spirit  of  the  Eddas  is  indispen- 
sable to  an  understanding  of  early  Swedish  literature.2  Atter- 
bom's  interest  in  strictly  indigenous  material,  then,  goes  hand 
in  hand  with  his  interest  in  the  Scandinavian  saga-age  and  its 
literary  monuments,  and  was  prompted  also,  no  doubt,  by  the 
Romantic  search  for  "  det  ursprungliga."  In  his  significant 
comments  on  Oehlenschlager's  works  in  the  November  number 
of  F os for os,  1810,  the  tone  is  even  more  explicit.  A  national 
Swedish  poetry,  based  on  Scandinavian  mythology,  is  advocated : 

i"  Fosforos"  for  1810,  pp.  4 iff.  This  quotation  is  crystal-clear  as  com- 
pared with  some  of  Atterbom's  early  prose,  but  even  here  we  can  detect  a 
tendency  toward  a  bombastic,  hazy  phraseology.  Of  course,  an  allowance 
must  be  made  for  translation. 

2  Cf.  "  Inledning  till  svenska  siare  och  skalder,"  Chap.  2,  "  Samlade 
skrifter  i  obunden  stil."  Fjerde  Delen.  Orebro,  1864,  p.  58.  Hammar- 
skjold  differed  with  Atterbom  on  these  points. 


30 

"We  fail  to  see  where  it  is  criminal  to  restore  our  fathers' 
majestic  mythology  as  poetic  symbolism.  If  one  should  ever  con- 
sider seriously  an  individual  Scandinavian  art  of  poetry,  this 
would  be  the  only  course  to  take.  Whatever  this  mythology  lacks 
in  plasticity,  able  geniuses,  turning  their  sole  attention  to  these 
matters,  will  complete  and  beautify  gradually.  Could  not  those 
readers  who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  demi-sagas  of  the  Edda, 
be  instructed  by  good  manuals  dealing  with  essential  phases,  and 
does  not  sacred  popular  belief  (folktron),  at  least  in  certain  remote 
places  in  the  last  retreats  of  Norse  Naturpoesie,  still  cling  to 
several  such  myths?  Does  not  Thor,  that  monarch  of  the  light- 
ning, still  ride  and  destroy  trolls  with  his  bolts?  Do  not  those 
mounds  blaze  in  the  night,  where  the  giants,  whose  habitations 
are  shown,  sleep  beneath  their  swords?  Do  not  the  artful  dwarfs 
laugh  within  their  rocks,  and  do  not  monstrous  forms  converse  on 
moonlit  winter-nights  around  ancestral  death-cliffs  (attestupor)  ? 
And  during  the  beautiful  summer  evenings,  when  the  evil-minded 
fairies  of  the  woods  do  not  venture  out  of  their  gloomy  dwellings, 
do  not  the  very  elves,  those  little  spirits  of  light,  dressed  in  a 
silvery  web,  still  dance  beneath  leafy  trees  to  the  ringing  notes  of 
the  water-sprite,  from  out  of  the  aspen-grove  on  the  bank  of  the 
river?  Those  Swedish  readers  in  whom  such  and  other  sagas  do 
not  re-echo  from  childhood  up  are  unworthy  and  incapable  of 
enjoying  any  kind  of  poetry.1 

This  strong  plea  for  the  Old  Northern  saga,  myth,  and  super- 
stition is  followed  by  a  favorable  recension  of  Ling's  "  Gylfe," 
a  short  allegorical  poem  in  Old  Norse  dress,  on  the  loss  of 
Finland,  which  had  just  appeared  in  Hammarskj old's  Ly- 
ceum.2 Here  we  have  a  national  poem  (by  an  author  who 
later  turned  out  to  be  the  most  red-hot  radical  of  the  Goths) 
published  in  an  organ  of  a  Fosforist,  Hammarskj  old,  and  re- 
viewed conjointly  by  two  more,  Palmblad  and  Atterbom,  in  the 
organ  of  the  new  movement.  He  hails  Ling  as  the  "  northern 
bard,"  and  proceeds  enthusiastically  as  follows : 

"  That  which  charms  us  so  irresistibly  in  this  allegory  on  the 
fates  and  hopes  of  Sweden  is  something  higher  than  the  effeminate 
and  butterfly-like  fancy  of  the  ordinary  artist.  It  is  Swedish 
patriotism  (nationlighet),  or  in  different  words,  love  of  fatherland, 

1  Fosforos  for  1810,  pp.  313-14. 

2  For  a  review  see  ibid.,  pp.  376-7.     Cf.  Chap.  Ill,  p.  103  and  note  5. 


31 

ardor  for  freedom,  ambition  and  heroic  power.  The  Scandinavian 
saga-dress  offers  willingly  its  gloomy  and  colossal  splendor  to  each 
and  every  soul  who,  in  rescuing  what  is  most  sacred  of  its  char- 
acter from  a  tuneless  contemporary  age,  gladly  continues  to  use  it 
[in  literary  treatments]  of  his  better  forefathers,  in  order  to  enjoy 
it  among  memories  and  graves."  .  .  . 

It  will  not  escape  notice  that  in  the  last  two  quotations  there 
is  both  a  general  reprimand  for  all  those  who  do  not  sympathize 
with  the  saga  and  a  definite  complaint  about  a  "  tuneless  con- 
temporary age." 

An  important  trait  of  Fosforos  is  its  sympathetic  attitude 
toward  contemporary  publications  of  saga  literature  in  Den- 
mark. The  December  number  for  iSio1  contains  an  announce- 
ment of  the  publication  of  the  Nial  Saga  (Historia  Niali  et 
Filiorum.  Kiobenhavn,  1809)  and  makes  a  brief  but  intelligent 
comparison  of  this  saga  with  the  works  of  Snorre  Sturleson 
and  Saemund  Frode.  The  annual  for  i8n2  announces,  again, 
a  "  worthy  "  complement  to  the  Nial  Saga  in  the  Egil  Saga  in 
Latin  translation,  published  with  notes  and  chronologies  by  the 
same  famous  Arne-Magnussen  Foundation.  The  editor  be- 
lieves the  Egil  Saga  to  be  a  real  contribution  to  the  history  of 
Sweden,  Denmark,  England,  and  Norway,  and  the  fact  that 
the  hero  was  both  "  skald  "  and  "  berserk  "  appeals  to  him  par- 
ticularly. Then  we  obtain  an  idea  of  the  customs  of  the  olden 
time,  its  art  and  commerce,  its  laws  and  administration  of  jus- 
tice. In  short,  he  finds  a  "  remarkable  amount  of  culture  "  in 
the  Egil  Saga,  the  events  of  which  took  place  in  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  centuries.3  Then,  with  a  sincere  effort  for  philolog- 
ical accuracy  and  style,  the  editor  goes  on  to  give  information 
about  codices  and  to  name  forerunners  in  the  field.  Lastly,  he 
ventures  the  hypothesis  that  the  manuscript  is  from  the  thir- 
teenth or  fourteenth  centuries,  "  when  Ore  Frode,  Snorre 
Sturleson,  and  Sturle  Thurdsen  constituted  the  golden  age  of 
Icelandic  literature."4  The  beginning  of  a  critical  study  of 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  380-1. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  69-70. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  69. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  70. 


32 

the  sagas  makes  its  appearance  also  at  this  time  in  Fosforos. 
Concerning  the  above  mentioned  monuments,  published  in  Den- 
mark, Carl  C.  Gjorwell  sent  a  contribution  to  Fosforos  dated 
in  Stockholm,  January  10,  iSn,1  which  consisted  of  a  few  bio- 
graphical and  historical  data  about  Egil  and  Nial.  Gjorwell 
takes  a  broad  and  thoughtful  view  of  the  sagas ;  there  must  be 
sympathy  for  them  as  literature,  he  believes,  and  the  historical 
facts  must  be  taken  cautiously.  Yet  we  must  attach  some  his- 
torical importance  to  these  tales.  All  Norse  sagas  are  "not 
merely  ballads  to  amuse  simple-minded  people.2 

To  come  back  to  Atterbom.  The  leading  Romanticists  paid 
tribute  to  the  saga  element  in  creative  poetry  as  well  as  in 
literary  criticism.  Atterbom  writes  to  Hammarskjold,  Jan- 
uary 14,  1811:  "I  have  now  read  Oehlenschlager's  "Digte," 
first  edition,  and  a  few  of  his  romances  have  strengthened  my 
opinion  still  more  that  a  national  (egen)  Scandinavian  poetry 
is  possible.  Perhaps  you  will  soon  see  your  friend  attempt 
this  new  path.  Later  on  I  should  like  to  write  a  text-book  on 
mythology  like  Moritz's,  but  I  shall  not  be  able  to  devote 
myself  to  Icelandic  literature  diligently  for  a  couple  of  years 
to  come.  More  about  this  may  appear  in  print."3  The  public 
did  not  have  to  wait  long  for  something  in  print  on  Norse 
mythology  from  Atterbom's  pen.  In  the  very  Prolog  to  Fos- 
foros, in  that  strophe  which  is  addressed  to  his  fatherland, 
Atterbom  calls  his  countrymen  "  sons  of  Thor,"4  and  Fosforos 
for  1811  is  introduced  by  "  Skaldarmal,"5  a  direct  creative 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  i57ff. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  1 60. 

3  Frunck:  "  Bref  rorande  den  nya  skolans  historia,"  IV,  p.  217.     Oehlen- 
schlager's "Digte"  had  appeared  in  1807.     Moritz  was  Karl  Philip  Moritz 
(I757~I793),  Pro.fessor  in  Berlin,  and  author  of  "  Gotterlehre."     In  a  letter 
to  Hammarskjold,  dated  February  4,    1811,  Atterbom  again  refers  to  his 
intended  work  on  Norse  Mythology :  "  I  have  not  yet  touched  my  intended 
Norse   Mythology.     I    cannot   hope   for  a   realization   of  this   plan   before 
I  get  time  to   devote  a   couple   of  years   exclusively  to   this   work."     See 
Frunck:  "Bref,"  IV,  p.  229.     On  the  other  hand,  Palmblad  does  not  be- 
lieve that  Atterbom's  Norse  Mythology  will  ever  see  daylight  unless  "  God 
deigns  to  prolong  his  life  by  eighty  years."    .Frunck:  "Bref,"  IV,  p.  235. 

4  Cf.  the  last  two  lines  of  the  strophe : 

"  Och  Thor  an  sina  soners  berg  bestralar, 
Der  skalden  dina  nya  under  malar !  " 

5  Fosforos  for  1811,  pp.  3-8,  followed,  pp.  8-14,  by  explanatory  notes. 


33 

tribute  to  Scandinavian  mythology.  The  mere  existence  of 
this  poem  is  well  known,  but  the  exact  nature  of  its  contents 
or  importance  is  generally  ignored.  It  is  a  Romantic  plea  for 
a  national  poetry  on  the  basis  of  indigenous  saga-material.  It 
is  at  once  a  glorification  of  poetry  and  of  the  saga  age  which 
the  poet  is  to  bring  back,  and  a  pessimistic  characterization  of 
the  present  era.  The  poet  deplores  the  existing  lack  of  interest 
in  the  runes  and  complains  that  feeling  is  silent  in  "  our  deso- 
late days."  "What  will  ye  do,  ye  old  rune-tones  (runoljud) 
with  a  people  who  have  no  sense  of  honor,  or  with  a  world 
which  has  no  God  ?  "*  The  poet  regrets  that  the  harp  which 
Brage  played  in  days  of  yore  at  wedding  feasts  sounds  no  more 
in  Northern  forests.2  And  so  he  sings  of  battle,  Valkyr, 
and  Valhalla;  of  the  viking  and  the  skald;  of  Thor  and  the 
giants,  of  Frigga  and  Balder;  in  short,  of  the  age  when 
"beauty  embraced  strength."3  Allusions  to  the  weird  norns 
and  the  bewitching  song  of  the  water-sprite  (necken)  help  to 
complete  the  picture.  There  is  great  enthusiasm  for  skaldic 
poets  or,  to  use  Atterbom's  own  term,  "  bragar,"  and  their  art. 
"  The  heart  was  given  for  the  fatherland,  and  if  you  but  love 
the  dead  as  we  do,  you  will  lure  them  back  with  the  magic  of 
song."4  "  Skaldarmal "  is  written  in  strophes,  in  tetrameters, 
interspersed  in  the  second  and  fourth  lines  with  trimeters,  and 
with  the  rime- formula :  ababcc. 

"  Skaldarmal "  is  followed  immediately  by  what  is  more  im- 
portant than  the  poem  itself:  namely,  by  notes  on  the  Norse 
mythology  employed,  and  these  notes,  it  seems  to  me,  fix  pretty 
definitely  Atterbom's  temporary  position  relative  to  Old  Norse 
literature.  The  notes  betray  a  knowledge  of  what  had  been 
done  before  in  this  line,  and  reveal  a  conscientious  study  of 
the  myths;  they  are  illuminating  and,  for  the  most  part,  cor- 
rect. And  they  must  have  been  accepted  by  the  public  as 
unusually  trustworthy  interpretations,  not  only  then,  when 
everybody  was  more  or  less  ignorant  of  the  subject,  but  later, 
when  poets  and  scholars  were  better  acquainted  with  Scandi- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  3. 

2  Ibid.,  p,  5. 
s  Ibid.,  p.  5. 
4  Ibid.,  p.  7. 


34 

navian  mythology.  When,  in  1815,  four  years  after  the 
Goths  had  appeared  above  the  horizon,  a  dictionary  of 
Norse  mythology  was  published  in  Nykoping,  several  of  At- 
terbom's notes  to  "  Skaldarmal "  in  Fosforos,  even  the  incor- 
rect ones,  were  copied  word  for  word  in  it.1  It  stands  to  reason, 
then,  that  Atterbom  acquired  some  reputation  by  his  genuinely 
national  poem  and  its  accompanying  notes ;  that  some2  influence 
must  have  been  exerted  on  his  contemporaries,  even  if  he  can- 
not be  given  credit  for  inaugurating  the  Gothic  Society  or  its 
publication,  Iduna.3  That  this  Fosforist  tried  to  arouse  en- 
thusiasm for  the  saga  element,  however,  before  the  actual 
organization  of  the  Gothic  Forbund  or  the  appearance  of  its 
literary  organ,  cannot  be  denied,  and  the  influence  at  first,  if 
any,  went  from  Fosforist  to  Goth  and  not  vice  versa.  To  say 
unconditionally  that  the  impulse  for  the  historical  "revival  in 
Swedish  culture,  was  given  by  the  Gothic  Forbund"4  is  in- 
correct. 

But,  to  leave  the  matter  of  influence  and  chronology,  let  us 
examine  the  notes  themselves  more  in  detail.  Atterbom's  re- 
marks are  to  serve,  not  only  as  a  guide  to  his  poem  but  also 
to  indicate,  by  way  of  anticipation,  the  spirit  in  which  a  per- 
fected Edda,  possessing  a  symbolism  of  its  own,  could  be  pro- 
duced for  Norse  art.5  Atterbom  declares  emphatically  that  the 
demi-sagas  of  the  Edda  are  not  a  positive  evil,  the  product  of 
a  stupid  imagination.6  Then  he  waxes  enthusiastic  again  and 

1  See  Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning  for  i8th  of  May,  1816  (No.  20),  p.  313. 

2  Cf.  below,  first  paragraph  of  Chapter  III. 

3  In  the  recension  of  the  first  number  of  Iduna,  in  Forforos   1811,  p. 
i77ff.,  Atterbom  rather  proudly  assumes  credit  for  having  given  the  im- 
pulse for  such  a  publication.     (Cf.  below,  p.  40.)     This  has  given  rise  to 
many  useless  attacks  by  his  enemies.     The  dispute  is  pretty  well  settled, 
and  it  would  not  be  very  important  if  it  were  not.     Norling  ("  Nya  skolan," 
p.  67)  has  given  the  most  sensible  opinion  about  this  matter :  "  Of  course, 
Iduna  would  have  been  born  without  Atterbom's  exhortations,  but  it  would 
be  just  as  wrong  to  deny  this,  as  to  assert  that  the  Fosforists'  love  for 
the  fatherland  received  its  first  right  trend  from  the  latter"  (Iduna).     The 
fact  that  the  January-February  number  of  Fosforos  for   1811,  which  con- 
tained "Skaldarmal,"  appeared  a  little  late   (see  p.  96  of  Fosforos  1811), 
makes  no  appreciable  difference  of  chronology. 

4  Vedel :  "Svensk  romantik,"  p.  251. 

5  Fosforos,  1811,  p.  9. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  12. 


35 

queries  whether  the  "ideal  principle  of  poetry  had  not  appeared 
with  greater  force  in  Sweden  (Svithiod)  than  in  Hellas," 
whether  "  our  ancestors'  wisdom  and  poetic  art,  bred  under  the 
same  sky  as  we  and  upon  the  unchangeable  foundation  of  the 
same  North,"  did  not  stand  closer  to  us  than  a  foreign  Southern 
art.  In  fact,  Atterbom  takes  a  concrete  example,  finds  that 
"the  wonderful  teachings  about  creation  and  its  final  destruc- 
tion "  are,  "  from  a  philosophical  view-point,  most  important  in 
the  Edda."1  In  other  words,  not  only  the  Scandinavian  patriot, 
but  the  philosopher,  had  better  go  to  early  Scandinavian  litera- 
ture for  his  fundamentals. 

Atterbom  is  a  thorough  Romanticist  all  through  his  notes. 
At  times  he  seems  verbose  and  misty,  as  in  his  interpretation 
of  creation,  but,  above  all,  he  is  philosophical  and  symbolic,  and 
compares  briefly  the  characters  from  Norse  mythology  with 
those  from  Greek,  Latin  and  Oriental  myths.  The  influence 
of  Tieck  and  Novalis  is  also  noticeable.  Atterbom  describes 
Freya,  the  goddess  of  beauty,  as  follows :  She  was  "  the  symbol 
of  love  and  hope,  a  composition  of  infinite  music  and  ardent 
longing,  and,  like  Aphrodite  of  the  Greeks,  she  had  sprung  from 
the  water."  Freya  was  the  daughter  of  Necken,  the  genius  of 
music,  who  was  said  to  live  in  the  water,  and  of  Skadi,  the 
symbol  of  disturbance  in  the  elements.  Necken  under  the  name 
of  Agir  (Neptune)  and  Niord  (Eolus)  were  worshipped  as  the 
rulers  of  water  and  wind  respectively.2  Idun  (Iduna),  the 
goddess  of  youth,  wife  of  Brage,  the  god  of  fine  arts,  becomes 
to  Atterbom  the  embodiment  of  poetry,  the  symbol  of  immor- 
tality, and  corresponds  to  Hebe  of  the  Greeks.3  Balder,  the 
god  of  innocence,  piety  and  light,  becomes  furthermore  a 
"  symbol  of  virtue  in  its  original  form."  He  is  killed  by  Loke, 
the  personification  of  the  ".original  evil,"  and  corresponds  in 
some  particulars  to  Apollo.4  Frey,  the  god  of  fertility  on 
earth,  becomes  to  Atterbom  the  "symbol  of  enjoyment  (Bac- 
chus), who  loves  man  and  gives  abundance  to  nature."5  Thor 

1  Ibid.,  p.  13. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  12. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  10. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  ii. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  12. 


36 

represents  the  sun,  and  is  a  "  symbol  of  the  masculine  principle 
of  the  Deity,  light,  or  reason,  which  fertilizes  the  nature- 
element  (Naturgrund)  or  the  original  imagination,  unites  (as 
in  marriage)  the  form  and  content  and  thereby  becomes  the 
origin  of  the  real  creation."1  He  is  the  god  in  human  form, 
the  mediator  between  man  and  God,  the  redeemer  among  our 
forefathers  and  corresponds  to  Vishnu  and  Christ.  He  occu- 
pies the  highest  throne  in  Uppsala  temple  and  has  assumed 
greater  prominence  than  Odin,  for  he  (Thor)  is  visible.  Simi- 
larly, Frigga  or-  Disa  represents  the  moon  and  is  a  symbol  of 
the  feminine  principle  of  the  Deity,  materia.  She  is  the  wife 
of  All  father,  Odin,  and  represents  the  Fate  which  is  united  to 
Providence,  the  motherly  in  the  universe,  and  necessity  in  na- 
ture. She  corresponds  to  the  Egyptian  Isis,  to  the  Ephesian 
Diana,  and  to  Mary  in  the  Christian  religion.  She  is  a  symbol, 
also,  of  the  divinity  of  the  earth  as  Mother-of-all,  hence  like 
the  German  Hertha.2 

We  have  stated  above  that  Atterbom's  notes  were,  for  the 
most  part,  correct.  Yet,  the  characteristic  lingo,  such  as  we 
found  in  the  note  on  Thor,  is  not  always  as  clear  as  it  might 
be,  and  it  is  therefore  difficult  to  determine  whether  they  are 
correct  or  incorrect.  That  some  of  them  were  actually  incor- 
rect was  discovered  by  the  reviewer  of  the  dictionary  of  Norse 
mythology  in  i8i5.3  But  it  is  a  strange  fact  that  the  more 
Atterbom's  interpretations  are  studied  the  more  the  modern 
student  will  agree  with  him,  and  the  more  Atterbom's  ideas 
seem  to  fit  into  an  intellectual  system.  As  far  as  the  symbol- 
ism goes,  we  feel  that  Atterbom  has  at  least  a  justification  for 
his  own  Romantic  point  of  view.  Yet  it  is  doubtful  whether 
Frey,  as  the  god  of  productiveness,  of  rain,  and  sunshine,  and 
as  the  patron  of  all  crops,4  is  the  Norse  analog  of  Bacchus,  who 
was  the  "symbol  of  enjoyment"  in  a  more  specific  sense. 
Again,  Atterbom  makes  Neck  en  identical  with  Njord.  But 
Njord  is  one  of  the  fourteen  full-fledged  Asa-gods,  mentioned 
in  Snorre's  Edda  (Gylfaginning),  whereas  Necken  is  a  lower 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  pff. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  9. 

3  Cf.  above,  note  i,  p.  34,  and  text  on  pp.  34-35. 

4  Cf .  Sunden:  "Oversikt  av  nordiska  mytologien,"  Femte  upplagan,  p.  80. 


37 

spirit,  an  elf -like  water-sprite  of  the  smaller  bodies  of  water, 
and  is  more  the  product  of  popular  superstition.  In  his  com- 
mentary on  Thor,  Atterbom  assumes  that  other  Norse  gods 
were  invisible  and  lacked  human  form.  But  to  all  of  the  gen- 
uine Asa-gods,  human  form  was  attributed:  "To  them  (Asa- 
divinities)  are  attributed  human  form  and  human  conduct,  but 
all  on  a  higher  and  nobler  level."1 

But  it  must  be  added  to  Atterbom's  credit  that  he  tried  to  be 
self-critical  in  his  analysis  of  Norse  myths,  became  conscious 
later  of  his  youthful  shortcomings,  acknowledged  his  mistakes, 
and  was  ready  to  rectify  them.  He  writes  to  Tegner,  July  20, 
1811 :  "In  the  notes  to  the  above-mentioned  poem  ('  Skaldar- 
mal'),  I  made  a  couple  of  historical  mistakes,  which  will  be 
corrected  in  my  next  experiment  in  this  line/'2  Atterbom 
sought  modestly  to  approach  Tegner  by  means  of  his  first  "  ex- 
periment." He  sent  the  first  number  of  Fosforos  for  1811  to 
his  more  distinguished  colleague  and  wrote:  "I  have  there  (in 
the  beginning  of  the  first  number)  ventured  the  first  outline  of 
a  revival  of  the  extinct  myths  of  Sweden,  and  am  certain  that 
this  new  idea  will  interest  you,3  whose  muse  long  ago  began 
to  charm  us  with  Northern  delight.  I  considered  it  unworthy 
that  we  should  ignore  our  own  forefathers'  sacred  remains,  in 
a  journal  which  is  intended  to  embrace  the  most  important 
objects  for  the  culture  of  a  growing  literature.  Whether  any 
clear  pictures  can  be  developed  from  my  shadowy  lines,  is  a 
problem  which  can  be  solved  only  by  you  and  your  peers."4 
Tegner,  who  believed  in  Atterbom's  poetic  ability,5  received 
his  "Skaldarmal"  favorably.  Atterbom  writes:  "Your  (Teg- 
ner's)  estimate  of  my  '  Skaldarmal'  has  pleased  me  heartily 

i  Ibid.,  p.  19. 

2"Ur  Esaias  Tegners  papper,"  p.  39.  He  does  not  state  the  precise 
nature  of  the  mistake,  however. 

3  A  free  translation.  Atterbom  addresses  Tegner  in  the  third  person 
with  "Tit."  "title,"  implying  a  repetition  of  all  titles  every  time  he  ad- 
dresses him.  For  the  sake  of  simplicity  I  have  rendered  this  "Tit."  by 
"you." 

*  See  letter  of  April  19,  1811.  "  Ur  Esaias  Tegners  papper,"  p.  38.  As 
it  happened,  Atterbom  here  addressed,  prophetically,  the  very  poet  who, 
fourteen  years  later,  was  to  solve  the  problem  in  "  Frithiofs  Saga." 

5  Cf .  Letter  to  Geijer  of  February  17,  1811.     Jubelfestupplaga.     V,  p.  65. 

4 


38 

and  has,  together  with  the  approval  of  my  friends  and  many 
of  my  enemies,  encouraged  me  to  make  further  attempts  later 
in  the  same  style  and  tone."1  But  Tegner,  who  hated  anything 
philosophical,  had  evidently  objected  to  the  Fosforistic  inter- 
pretation of  the  myths,  for  Atterbom  continues  in  the  same 
letter : 

"A  propos  of  your  view  of  my  method  of  interpretation  of 
Norse  mythology  and  my  Schellingization2  of  the  same,  I  ven- 
ture only  to  recall  that  the  fundamental  principles  of  nature-phi- 
losophy2 gleam  forth,  though  enveloped  in  a  more  or  less  per- 
fect mythical  dress,  through  all  the  mythologies  (guda-sy sterner) 
which  betray  an  evident  relation  to  the  Hindu  mysteries,  and  this 
in  a  stronger  or  weaker  degree,  according  to  their  distance  from 
the  maternal  source.  Take  the  eternal  element  of  the  Trinity;  do 
we  not  find  it  in  any  mythology  which  has  the  least  claim  to  specu- 
lative importance  or  deep  religiosity?  But  with  all  this,  I  by  no 
means  have  the  presumption  to  force  upon  you  the  conception  of  an 
unripe  youth;  on  the  contrary,  I  am  willing  to  admit  that  the 
doctrine  of  nature-philosophy  still  needs  development  in  several 
points." 

It  is  clear  that,  although  Atterbom  expressed  his  intention 
to  correct  objective  historical  mistakes  in  his  notes,  he  clung 
to  his  independent,  philosophical  interpretations  with  persistent 
tenacity.  To  Atterbom  the  Norse  myths  are  often,  not  so 
much  a  living  religion  or  the  symbolism  of  a  living  people,  as 
our  ancestors  thought  them  to  be,  but  rather  an  indigenous 
source  for  a  new,  national  poetry,  where  the  spirit  and  philoso- 
phy of  the  myth  are  more  important  than  the  objective  divini- 
ties. This  explains  some  of  the  freedom  which  Atterbom  took 
with  his  objective  facts.  In  a  letter  dated  April  23,  1811, 
Atterbom  first  declares  to  Hammarskjold  that  he  has  read  the 
Edda,  and  then  answers  an  evident  criticism  of  his  own  notes 
to  "  Skaldarmal "  by  the  Danish  philologist  Grundtvig : 

"  In  spite  of  what  Grundtvig  may  say  to  the  contrary,  I  do  not 
believe  that  he  possesses  a  very  clear  vision  for  the  inner  structure 

1  Letter  of  July  20,  1811.     "  Ur  Esaias  Tegners  papper,"  p.  39.     Nothing 
more  followed,  though,  in  exactly  that  "  style  and  tone." 

2  Cf .  above :  Thor  represents  the  sun ;  Frigga  the  moon  and  the  neces- 
sity in  nature,  etc. 


39 

of  hyperboreism,1  if  he  does  not  believe  that  Thor  is  the  genius  of 
the  sun.  I  have  made  (in  my  notes)  many  other  bold  combinations, 
for  example  between  the  water-sprite  and  Freya.2  I  do  not  aim  at 
a  dead  correctness  to  the  letter;  my  purpose  is  to  discover  the 
lost  fantasy  of  the  North."3 

And  listen  to  the  following : 

"That  Thor,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Gothic  populace, 
represented  the  supporting  and  mediating  power,  whose  glory  we 
imagine  most  beautiful  in  the  form  of  the  element  of  light,  does 
not  seem  to  be  refuted  by  the  story  of  Skinfaxe  and  the  daughter 
of  Mundelfare.4  The  meaning  is  not  that  Thor  had  his  seat  in  the 
sun,  but  that  the  sun  in  certain  Besiehungen5  was  an  image  of 
his  majesty; — In  other  particulars,  you  look  at  my  treatment  of 
Norse  mythology  from  my  point  of  view:  namely,  not  from  the 
antiquarian  (view-point)  but  from  the  poetic.6  For  me  it  is  not  a 
question  of  how  the  people  in  this  or  that  age  looked  upon  their 
dogmas — it  is  very  likely  that  they  did  not  reflect  much  about  their 
meaning  and  continuity — but  how  a  complete  whole  in  Northern 
Geist5  may  be  formed  out  of  this  crude  mass;  how  this  united  whole 
may  become  a  fitting  costume  for  a  living  national  poetry,  which  is 
not  only  sung  from  the  chamber  of  one  literateur  into  that  of 
another,  but  can  seize  the  Swedish  heart  with  Swedish  songs."7 

i "  Hyperboreism "  seems  to  have  been  a  septentrionalized  system  of 
nature  worship  in  which  Atterbom  dabbled  to  a  considerable  extent.  The 
sun  seems  to  have  been  the  emanating  center  of  this  system.  To  me,  it  is 
a  good  illustration  of  some  of  Atterbom's  so-called  explanations. 

2  Cf.  above,  p.  35. 

3  Cf .  Frunck:  "  Bref,"  IV,  p.  285.     Atterbom's  purpose  is,  indeed,  am- 
bitious and  pretentious. 

4  Skinfaxe  (Icelandic,  Skinfaxi)  was  the  horse  of  Dag  (Icelandic,  dagr), 
whose  mane  illuminates  air  and  earth.     Here  was  apparently  a  contradic- 
tion to  Atterbom's  view  that  Thor  was  the  genius  of  light,  and  attention 
had  been  called  to  it.     The  daughter  of  Mundelfare  (Icl.  Mundelfoeri)  was 
Sol    (Sol).     Having  been  placed  in  the   sky,   she   drove  the  steeds  which 
pulled  the  chariot  of  the  sun.     Cf .  Sunden :   Oversikt  av  nordiska  myto- 
logien,  pp.  8  and  9.     Here  was  a  discrepancy  in  gender,  for  Sol  is  a  femi- 
nine character  in  Norse  mythology.     Could  Thor,  then,  be  the  symbol  of 
the  sun?     Note  the  explanation  of  Atterbom. 

5  The  German  words  are  in  the  Swedish  original. 

6  We  get  a  glimpse  here  of  Hammarskj old's  temporary  attitude  towards 
Norse  myths,  but  we  shall  see  later  that  Hammarskj  old  had  a  very  con- 
servative idea  about  introducing  it  into  Swedish  art  and  poetry. 

7  Letter  by  Atterbom  to  Hammarskj  old,  dated  "  Uppsala  am  Walpur- 
gisabend  1811."     Frunck:  "Bref,"  IV,  pp.  291-2. 


40 

The  success  of  "  Skaldarmal "  and  the  justified  reputation 
acquired  by  its  unique  notes  gave  the  author  a  feeling  of  what 
came  dangerously  close  to  presumption.  Consequently,  when 
the  first  number  of  Iduna  appeared,  there  followed  an  enthu- 
siastic review  in  Fosforos  by  Atterbom,  in  which  the  honor  of 
incentive  goes  to  "  Skaldarmal."  At  least,  I  do  not  see  how 
there  can  be  another  plausible  interpretation,  and,  undoubtedly, 
critics  have  had  some  justification  for  attacking  the  insinuation 
in  the  following  extract  from  the  review : 

"  That  prophecy  which  resounded  in  our  *  Skaldarmal/  concern- 
ing the  return  of  Norse  life  to  thought  and  song,  and  that  appeal 
to  the  geniuses  of  Sweden  which  was  expressed  there  and  in 
several  places  in  this  periodical,  is  no  longer  a  happy  dream,  it  has 
not  been  made  in  vain."1 

But  Atterbom's  pleasure  and  enthusiasm  were  not  entirely 
selfish;  he  was  happy  for  the  sake  of  Sweden  that  the  Gothic 
organ  had  appeared.  He  sees  great  hopes  now  for  Swedish 
art  and  investigation  of  antiquity.  In  Geijer's  immortal  lyrics, 
such  as  "  The  Last  Skald  "  (Den  siste  skalden)  and  "  The  Last 
Warrior"  (Den  siste  kampen),  he  detects  the  character  of 
"  Swedish  magnanimity,"  a  pious  love  for  the  heroic  age  of 
Sweden  and — as  a  Romanticist — the  holy  aspect  of  art  which 
through  imagination  is  the  highest  herald  of  religion  and  ethics. 
"The  Viking"  (Vikingen)  is  "a  Gothic  romance,"  a  master- 
piece wherein  we  find  the  reflection  of  a  simple  honesty,  a 
genuine  expression  of  the  true,  original  (ursprunglig)  Norse  na- 
ture; it  is  not  dead  antiquarian  learning.  "The  Last  War- 
rior," the  reviewer  finds,  has  a  commendable  ancient  rhythm, 
and  the  bard  improvises  in  "  The  Last  Skald  "  in  verse  which 
is  closely  akin  to  Icelandic.  Geijer  had  made  frequent  use  of 
new  imperfects,  such  as  "klungo"  for  "klingade"  and  "svang" 
(Ger.  schwang)  for  "  svingade."  This  appealed  to  Atterbom, 
not  only  because  Geijer  here  stood  on  German  feet,  but  because 
the  new  forms  were  old.  Atterbom  adopts  his  customary 
method  and  compares,  briefly,  the  Norse  myths  with  those  of 

i  Fosforos,  1811,  p.  177.  Cf.  above,  note  3,  p.  34.  For  whole  review, 
see  pp.  i77ff. 


41 

India  and  Greece.  He  looks  at  his  Scandinavian  ancestors 
here  from  an  historical,  political  and  ethical  standpoint  also. 
His  forefathers  were  fighters  because  fighting  was,  historically, 
a  part  of  their  moral  and  religious  conviction;  the  old  Goths 
had  a  "restless  fighting  virtue  and  faith  in  warlike  gods."1 
And,  he  avers  in  his  spirit  of  a  Rousseauite,  if  the  (political) 
states  are  to  become  what  they  once  were,  the  age  of  mythol- 
ogy must  return.2  In  the  recension  of  the  Swedish  translation 
of  Nyerup's  Edda,3  Atterbom  says  he  has  been  "pleasantly" 
superseded  by  Iduna  and  lauds  the  thorough  description  in  it 
of  the  relation  between  superstition,  myth  and  religion.  Here, 
however,  our  Fosforist  has  a  tendency  again  to  become  philo- 
sophical and  obscure.  In  regard  to  translations  from  the  Ice- 
landic he  is  sensible  and  self-critical;  he  admits  willingly  his 
own  linguistic  limitations.  He  says  very  little  about  these  for 
he  confesses  too  great  a  weakness  in  Icelandic  to  compare  them 
intelligently  with  the  original,4  and  this  in  itself  is  a  feature 
of  Atterbom's  interest  which  points  in  the  right  direction. 

We  have  described  the  nature  of  the  interest  in  the  saga  ele- 
ment in  F os for os,  as  it  was  exemplified  in  the  leader  of  the 
Fosforists,  Atterbom.  It  consisted  (i)  of  enthusiastic  reviews 
of  modern  Scandinavian  literature  based  in  any  way  on  Scan- 
dinavian antiquity,  (2)  of  sympathetic  announcements  of  saga 
literature  which  had  appeared  in  Denmark,  and  (3)  of  an 
original  poem  by  Atterbom,  accompanied  by  a  detailed  and 
philosophic  commentary  on  Norse  mythology.  Henceforth  the 
last  of  these  three  -drops  out;  i.  e.,  there  is  no  more  original 
"Gothic"  poetry  by  a  genuine  Fosforist.  In  1813  Forsforos 
died  and  was  replaced  by  another  annual,  Svensk  Litteratur- 

iFosforos,  1811,  p.  183. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  183. 

3  Nyerup's  Edda  had  appeared  in  Copenhagen  in   1808.     It  was  trans- 
lated into  Swedish  by  Jakob  Adlerbeth  and  published  in  Stockholm,   1811. 
In  regard  to  Nyerup's  Edda,  Atterbom  writes  to  Hammarskjold,  February 
4,  1811 :  "If  Nyerup's  Edda  is  for  sale  in  Stockholm,  buy  a  copy  for  me  a 
tout  prix."     See  Frunck:  "  Bref,"  IV,  p.  229.     And,  again,  on  May  5,  iS'ii, 
to  the  same  friend :   "  It  pleases  me  beyond   description  that  Adlerbeth's 
Edda  has   appeared.     Would   to   God   that   it  were   only  here."     Frunck : 

Bref,"  IV,  p.  301.     There  is  no  lukewarmness  about  such  expressions. 
*  Fosforos,  1811,  p.  182. 


42 

Tidning.  In  this  organ  the  interest  in  the  saga  age  is  limited 
to  announcements  and  reviews.  That  Atterbom  did  not  write 
another  "Skaldarmal,"  as  he  had  intended  to  do,1  must  be  due, 
in  part,  to  his  activities  along  other  lines  of  his  cult,  and  to  the 
appearance  of  other  literary  men  and  women,  most  of  them 
members  of  the  Gothic  Society,  who  now  sought  to  cover  this 
national  part  of  the  field.  And  so,  for  the  present,  the  future 
historian  of  Swedish  literature  began  to  lay  the  foundation  for 
his  "Swedish  Seers  and  Skalds"  (Svenska  siare  och  skalder) 
by  a  systematic  study  of  old  Scandinavian  monuments,  the 
fruits  of  which  could  only  appear  very  much  later.  He  fos- 
tered the  Gothic  movement,  temporarily,  by  a  consistently  ex- 
pressed sympathy  and  by  the  writing  and  editing  of  occasional 
reviews. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  "  consistently  expressed  sympathy," 
I  need  only  cite  the  Fosforists'  abiding  attitude  toward  Iduna, 
as  we  find  it  in  Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning,  and  for  which  Atter- 
bom and  Palmblad  are  jointly  responsible.  And  it  was  not  a 
lukewarm,  polite  formality,  for  politeness  in  literary  matters 
at  the  time  was  out  of  fashion,  but  it  was  a  real  interest.  The 
same  policy  adopted  by  Fosforos  was  continued  in  its  successor. 
The  review  of  the  fourth  number  of  Iduna,  for  instance,  is 
extremely  favorable:  "With  warm  and  hearty  joy  the  reviewer 
announces  a  new  number  of  this  excellent  periodical,  which 
has  contributed  so  much  to  awaken  a  love  among  our  country- 
men for  our  ancestors'  hardy  era,  and  has  called  attention  to 
the  only  means  whereby  it  might  return  with  higher  potency."2 
Then  the  Gothic  organ  is  eulogized  for  its  "  manly  enthusiasm  " 
for  all  that  is  good  and  beautiful,  and  is  criticized  intelligently 
at  great  length.  When  the  second  edition  of  Iduna  for  1811 
had  appeared,  Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning  came  out  at  once3 
with  a  retrospect  of  Iduna's  work.  The  former  numbers,  we 
are  told,  had  had  better  original  poetry,  but  the  more  recent 
ones  more  valuable  results  of  antiquarian  investigations.  Eu- 
logistic adjectives  like  excellent  (fortrafBig)  and  superb 

1  Cf.  above,  pp.  37-38,  and  note  i. 

2  Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning  for  October  23,  1813,  No.  42. 

3  November  13,  1813,  No.  45. 


43 

(ypperlig)  are  plentiful  and  give  the  tone  of  the  resume. 
The  fifth  number  of  Iduna  is  hailed  by  the  Fosforists'  organ 
as  a  "  precious  gift "  which  has  again  been  given  to  the  public,1 
and  the  sixth  number2  as  a  "useful"  contribution.  In  the 
same  organ  for  iSip3  Iduna  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  period- 
icals of  the  New  School,  and  the  eighth  number4  is  character- 
ized as  the  "  clearest  celestial  signs  "  which  appear  on  the  con- 
temporary horizon  of  Swedish  letters;  the  reviewer  is  afraid 
he  cannot  find  anything  blameworthy  in  the  "  Fragments  of 
'  Frithiofs  Saga '  which  now  appeared  in  Iduna." 

And  not  only  Iduna  but  all  of  the  important  Gothic  produc- 
tions received  an  almost  disproportionately  large  amount  of 
attention  in  Svensk  Litter  atur-Tidning.  It  is  this  generosity 
of  space  devoted  to  reviews  of  national  poetry  that  I  wish  to 
emphasize.  The  review  of  Ling's  "Gylfe"  (edition  of  1812, 
Lund)  runs  through  three  numbers  (No.  8  of  February  27; 
No.  10,  March  15;  No.  12,  March  27, 1813 ),  and  that  of  "Gefion," 
by  Fru  d'Albedyhll,  two  numbers  (numbers  23  and  24 
for  June  n  and  18,  1814).  Granberg's  "Jorund"  is  lashed 
for  maltreatment  of  saga  sources  through  two  numbers  (num- 
bers 20  and  21,  1814),  and  Geijer  and  Afzelius  get  two  num- 
bers full  of  commendation  for  their  folksongs  in  1815  (num- 
bers 45,  46,  for  nth  and  i8th  November).  Count  v.  Skjolde- 
brand  gets  due  attention  for  an  heroic  poem  in  ten  songs,  enti- 
tled "  Odin."5  Rask's  review  of  Hammarskj old's  publication 
of  the  Jomsvikinga  Saga  appears  in  number  14  (April  5)  for 
1817,  the  number  for  May  3  (No.  18)  of  the  same  year  con- 
tains a  review  of  eight  songs  of  Ling's  "  Asarne  "  by  the  same 
eminent  Dane,  and  Ling's  "  Eddornas  sinnebildslara "  is  hon- 
ored with  31  pages  (pp.  545~575>  numbers  35  and  36)  in  1820. 
The  editors  are  very  generous,  also,  in  the  space  allotted  to  an- 
nouncements of  books  on  Icelandic  topics,  or  to  translations 

1  October  i,  1814,  No.  39. 

2  July  6,  1816,  No.  27. 

3  P.  441. 

4  Reviewed  in   Svensk   Litter  atur-Tidning   for    1820,   pp.    769^.,    78sff., 
8oiff.  and  8i7ff. 

5  Stockholm,  1816.     Reviewed  in  Svensk  Litter  atur-Tidning,  No.  48,  for 
November  30,  1816, 


44 

from  Old  Norse.1     Finally,  in   1824,  four  numbers   (57-60) 
are  devoted  to  the  recent  dramatic  works  of  Ling.2 

It  would  be  futile  to  give  a  review  of  all  these  recensions; 
the  fact  that  they  are  there  in  conspicuous  length  is  what  is 
important  for  our  purpose.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  after 
about  1813  the  nature  of  the  study  of  ancient  Scandinavian  cul- 
ture necessarily  changed,  even  for  the  Fosforists.  What  had 
appeared  in  print  before  that  time  had  been  more  a  study  and 
eulogy  of  Norse  mythology  in  general  and  a  rather  indefinitely 
focused  enthusiasm  for  all  former  ages ;  now,  when  individual 
sagas  began  to  be  translated  or  employed  as  the  basis  for  poetic 
experimentations,  the  attention  of  the  critic  had  to  be  concen- 
trated on  specific  mythical  or  heroic  sagas.  The  reviews,  there- 
fore, become  scrupulously  critical  and  exhaustive.  For  exam- 
ple, in  Atterbom's  somewhat  prejudiced  criticism  of  Granberg's 
"Jorund"  (which  we  shall  treat  in  detail  in  the  next  chapter) 
a  great  deal  of  the  unmerciful  attack  is  directed  pointedly 
against  the  distortion  of  the  historical  Jorund  as  'described  in 
the  original  source:  the  Ynglinga  Saga  by  Sturleson.  This 
called  for  specific  information.  But  we  shall  see  that  Atter- 
bom  had  more  than  kept  up  with  his  contemporaries,  was  well 
prepared  to  review  any  saga-product  that  might  appear,  and 
certainly  knew  more  about  the  individual  sagas  than  some  of 
those  who  used  them  in  their  poetry.  And  so  his  criticisms 
become  real,  erudite  supplements  to  the  original,  and  in  some 
cases  he  adds  valuable  material  which  has  no  direct  bearing 
upon  the  specific  topic  treated.  This  is  the  case  with  his  above- 
mentioned  recension  of  "  Gefion "  by  Charlotta  d'Albedyhll, 
which  tells  us  as  much,  if  not  more,  about  Atterbom  than  it 
does  about  the  authoress  of  the  original  poem.3 

1  Cf.  review  of  Afzelius's  translation  of  "  Edda  Saemundar  hinns  Froda," 
pp.  6sff.,  97ff.     Review  of  G.   G.  Liljegren's  edition  of  "  Svenska  fornal- 
drens  hjeltesagor,"  pp.    129,   209,   241,   593,   and    (3)    review  of  "  Svenska 
folksagor,"   edited  by  H(ammarskjol)d  and   I(mmeliu)s,   Stockholm,    1819, 
pp.  4496*.     All  these  in  annual  for  1819. 

2  "  Blot-Sven,"    "  Injalld    Illrada,"    "  Wisburs    Soner  "    and    "  Styrbjorn 
Starke." 

3  Cf.  next  chapter,  where  analysis  of  "  Gefion  "  is  given. 


45 

This  review,1  which  I  shall  take  as  an  illustration,  is  prefaced 
by  an  exposition  of  the  transition  from  Scandinavian  literature 
in  general  to  the  beginning  of  Swedish  literature  in  particular. 
It  is  the  preface  that  I  desire  to  mention  here,  as  showing 
Atterbom's  progress  in  his  studies  of  early  Scandinavian  litera- 
ture and  history.  As  in  "  Skaldarmal "  the  tone  of  regret  for 
a  contemporary  lack  of  interest  in  primitive  Sweden  is  present 
here  also,  but  it  is  a  regret  in  the  light  of  historical  develop- 
ment. The  original  "Norrana-language"  was  preserved  among 
the  "  republican  and  historically-minded  Icelanders  of  Iceland," 
while  Christian  sentiment  destroyed  almost  all  traces  of  heathen- 
ism in  Sweden.2  The  old  letters  disappeared  probably  before 
the  language,  yet  the  sound  of  "Gothic  drapa"  (drapa,  a  song 
of  praise  for  a  king)  did  not  cease  to  vibrate  in  Sweden  until 
after  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  Birger  Jarl 
and  his  son,  Magnus  Ladulas,  reigned,  and  when  their  court- 
skald  Sturle  Thordarson  lived.3  But  from  now  on  the  old  lan- 
guage was  not  understood.  Swedish  had  become  isolated  and 
independent,  no  more  skalds  appeared  in  Sweden,  and  Ice- 
landers stayed  away  for  the  very  reason  that  they  could  not  be 
well  understood.  The  Ynglinga-dynasty  died  out  in  Norway 
in  1319,  and  then  after  the  passing  of  the  Norrana-Skald  the 
knowledge  of  the  Old  Norse  sagas  in  Sweden  became  hazy. 
The  Danes  had  Saxo,  who  wrote  an  invaluable  historical  work 
in  Latin,  which,  in  spite  of  its  faults,  is  as  accurate  as  we  can 
expect  from  a  Catholic  clergyman.4  But  the  Swedes  had  no 
Saxo  to  collect  material  where  such  was  to  be  had,  and  so  it 
was  not  until  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  they 
knew  anything  about  their  ancestors'  life  and  art,  except  that 
they  were  "blind  heathens  and  worshipped  three  idols,  whose 
names  were  Thor,  Odin,  and  Frigga."5  Then  Atterbom  criti- 
cizes previous  historians ;  Lagerbring  was  really  the  "  father 

1  Printed  also  in  Atterbom:  "  Litterara  karakteristiker,"  Orebro,   1870, 
pp.    115-135-     References   will   be   made   to   this    edition,    which   is   more 
accessible. 

2  Cf.  ibid.,  p.  115. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  1 1 6. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  1 1 8. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  119. 


46 

of  Swedish  history,"  but  had  no  sense  for  mythology  and 
poetry;  Von  Dalin  was  superficial,  misunderstood  these,  and 
soon  led  others  astray,  so  that  antiquarian  and  fantastic  pedant 
became  synonymous  terms.1  In  this  same  preface  Atterbom 
pays  tribute  to  the  work  of  Verelius  and  Rudbeck  the  Elder, 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  showing  that  he  had  already  com- 
menced the  foundation  for  his  later  exhaustive  characterization 
of  these  men.2 

But  Atterbom  is  still  a  typical  Fosforist  and  after  seven  pages 
of  history  there  follows  an  introductory  eulogy3  of  the  au- 
thoress of  "  Gefion  "  and  her  art,  in  a  language  which  in  spirit 
reminds  one  strongly  of  the  Prolog  in  Fosforos.  It  is  a  mix- 
ture of  Fosforism  and  Gothism.  There  is  talk  of  the  "  heav- 
enly ability  of  poetry  "  and  the  idea  is  set  forth  that  the  sanc- 
tum sanctorum  of  man,  the  "pure  feeling  of  the  eternal,  is 
expressed  in  the  genius  of  music."  Therefore,  why  should  not 
daughters  of  these  [ancestral]  heroines  follow  the  example  of 
their  mothers  when  "  maternal  sound  of  harps  has  returned  to 
their  mountainous  region"  (fjellbygd).  We  must  cope  with 
Germany  and  Denmark  unless  we  wish  to  feel  ashamed  of  our- 
selves. Iduna  (the  goddess  of  eternal  youth;  wife  of  Brage, 
god  of  poetry)  had  returned  to  Sweden,  "the  golden  shimmer 
of  her  rejuvenating  apples  has  begun  already  to  beautify  the 
new  dawn  of  Sweden's  internal  independence."4  The  spirits 
of  the  Norrana-song  descend  into  their  former  sacrificial 
groves,  "and  so  it  ought  not  to  astonish  (us)  if  the  women  of 
the  North  share  the  flame  which  Urda5  has  lit  in  the  hearts  of 
Northmen.  They  have  not  forgotten  that  their  mother  Freya 
was  generated  by  the  element  of  yearning6  or  that  her  relatives, 
the  maidens  of  the  sea,  praised  the  blissful  secrets  of  the  wave 
with  string-instrument  and  song."  Then  after  mention  of 
Brynhilda,  Aslaug,  and  Gudruna,  he  finally  gets  to  the  criticism. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  121. 

2  Cf.  pp.  19-20  of  Introduction. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  1 2 1-2. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  121. 

6  Urda  generally  conceived  as  the  Norn  of  the  Past.     But  see  Sunden : 
Oversikt  av  nordiska  mytologien,  p.  22. 

6  See  above  in  characterization  of  notes  to  "  Skaldarmal,"  p.  35. 


47 

In  true  scientific  style  Atterbom  gives  first  the  complete 
original  of  the  Gefion  Saga,1  and  gives  it  correctly.  He  makes 
now  a  sharp  distinction  between  pure  mythology  and  saga,  and 
pronounces  "  Gefion "  more  allegorical  than  historical.  He 
calls  attention  to  the  mistake  of  confusing  Allfather  with  Odin. 
Odin  was  the  son  and  instrument  of  Allfather  and  was  limited 
in  time  and  space.  He  was  the  product  of  Fjolner  (the  con- 
cealed) and  Fimbultyr  (the  incomprehensible  divinity)  .2  Much, 
again,  is  made  of  the  myth  of  Freya;  she  is  the  allegory  of 
Northern  love,  and  then  the  Romantic  idea  is  set  forth  that 
poets  are  chosen  as  interpreters  of  "  inner  models  of  love."3 
The  tone  of  the  whole  review  is  extremely  flattering;  Atter- 
bom lauds  the  fervor  of  the  authoress  for  arousing  interest  in 
the  Asa-myths  in  Sweden,  and  praises  the  first  song  of 
"  Gefion "  as  a  complete  masterpiece,  consisting  of  scenes  and 
groups  which  together  "  form  the  most  beautiful  picture  that 
Swedish  poetry  up  to  this  time  has  given  of  Northern  mythol- 
ogy."4 It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Atterbom  defends  the 
superabundance  of  kings  and  nobles  in  the  poem.  Most  of  us 
would  like  to  claim  counts  and  kings  as  ancestors,  is  the  frank 
opinion  of  Atterbom,  and  he  has  little  respect  for  those  that 
would  not.5 

One  evidence  of  Atterbom's  interest  in  the  saga  element  is 
his  increasing  study  of  Fouque  and  enthusiasm  for  his  "  Sigurd 
der  Schlangentodter "  (1808).  This  evidence  we  find  in  At- 
terbom's reviews  in  Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning.  In  connection 
with  the  form  of  "  Gefion,"  Atterbom  adds :  "  Fouque  has  by 
mighty  efforts  already  proved  the  possibility  of  fulfilling  the 
requirements  of  Icelandic  verse-structure.  Its  wonderful 
rhythms,  assonances,  and  alliterations  possess  a  bewitching 
power  which  now  resembles  the  Dwarf -mal  (mat,  song)  of 
mild  valleys,  now  the  roar  of  storms  and  mountain  torrents, 
mingled  with  the  clang  of  swords  against  the  shields  of  Val- 

1  See  Ynglinga  Saga  by  Sturleson,  Chap.  5. 

2  Sunden  gives  the  meaning  of  Fimbultyr  as  equivalent  to  God  of  the 
runes  and  attributes  this  quality  to  Odin  himself.     See  "  Oversikt,"  p.  30. 

3  "  Karakteristiker,"  p.  135. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  127. 

5  Ibid.,  pp.  130-1. 


48 

kyrs."1  In  another  review,2  Atterbom  compares  the  French 
classical  tragedies  of  Corneille  and  Racine  with  the  treatment 
of  Norse  sagas  by  Fouque :  "  What  can  that  kind  of  tragedies 
and  epopees,  of  which  the  French  boast  so  much,  furnish  to  the 
Scandinavians,  who  possess  a  primeval  antiquity  which  has 
descended  from  gods,  and  who  possess  heroic  sagas  with  such 
a  wealth  of  tragic  depth  and  inner  beauty  in  their  composition, 
that  no  race  on  earth  can  show  anything  comparable?  Take 
all  such  works  as  those  of  Corneille  (Corneillerier)  and  Racine 
(Racineader)  put  together:  What  are  they  in  comparison  with 
a  single  Volsunga-and-Niflunga  Saga,  treated  by  Fouque !  "3 
Again,  in  connection  with  his  recension  of  the  eighth  number 
of  Iduna;  "Why  is  this  heroic  drama  (hjeltespel,  meaning 
'  Sigurd  der  Schlangentodter '),  the  most  powerful  and  most 
beautiful  of  all  Fouque's  works,  still  so  little  known  among 
the  youth  of  Sweden?  Neither  this  nor  its  Urtext,  such  as  it 
is  found  in  the  Volsunga  Saga  in  Bjorner's  '  Norse  Tales  of 
Combat'  (Nordiska  kampadater),  should  be  missing  on  the 
book-shelf  of  anyone  who  claims  to  have  a  spark  of  love  for 
Northern  literature  and  poetry."4 

In  the  annual  Poetisk  Kalender  (1812-1822),  edited  chiefly 
by  Atterbom,  there  are  several  poems  of  strictly  national  char- 
acter, but  not  many  which  deal  with  the  Scandinavian  saga- 
age.  The  viking  element  is  incidental,  and  is  general  rather 
than  specific.  No  individual  Icelandic  sagas  are  dealt  with, 
but  motifs  are  often  taken  from  indigenous  popular  tradition 
or  saga  and  assume,  then,  a  ballad-like  character.  Such  is 
Afzelius's  metrical  romance  "  Var-Ulfven,"  the  story  of  a 
lover  who  must  pass  fifteen  years  in  the  "dark  forest"  as  a 
wolf  (ulf5),  and  is  based  on  a  folk-saga  from  Southern  Sweden. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  133.     Atterbom   refers,   of   course,   to   such   imitations   of  the 
highly  diversified   Icelandic  verse-structure,   as  are   found  interspersed  in 
"  Sigurd." 

2  Review  of  "  Svenska  akademiens   handlingar  if  ran  ar   1796.     Femte 
delen." 

3  "  Karakteristiker,"  p.  198. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  266,  and  note.     The  modern  critic,  I  think,  would  hardly  agree 
with  Atterbom  that  Fouque's  "  Sigurd  "  is  more  beautiful  than  "  Undine." 
The  exaggeration  speaks  for  itself. 

5  Poetisk  Kalender  for  1813,  pp.  3;ff. 


49 

Atterbom  sings  of  a  proud  mermaid  who  captures  a  sweetheart 
of  the  shore,1  Julia  Nyberg  (Euphrosyne)  invents  a  historical 
romantic  ballad  on  the  basis  of  an  inscription  upon  a  newly 
discovered  runestone,2  and  in  "  The  Viking  Maid  "  (  Vikings- 
tarnan)  the  heroine  sees  from  the  shore  her  lover  Ivar  find  a 
grave  in  the  waves  and  then  joins  him.3  Often  the  interest 
in  antiquity  takes  the  form  of  a  poetic  eulogy  of  those  who 
have  treated  Old  Norse  material  in  some  substantial  way.  The 
Kalender  for  1815  contains  two  sonnets;  one  is  entitled  "The 
Last  Runestone"  (Den  siste  runstenen)  and,  from  what  we 
are  told  in  a  note,4  is  an  indirect  tribute  to  the  Swedish  anti- 
quarian Rudbeck  (the  Elder)  and  Verelius;  the  other, 
"  Gefion,"5  is,  of  course,  a  direct  recognition  of  the  above- 
mentioned  Eleonora  Charlotta  d'Albedyhll.  "The  North" 
(Norden)  from  the  German  byAmalia  v.  Helvig,  and  put  into 
Swedish  by  G(umaeliu)s,  is  steeped  in  northernism,  Swedish 
superstition,  and  Norse  mythology.6  In  "Upon  the  Heights 
of  Uppsala"  (Pa  Upsala  hogar),  dated  May  15,  1816,  Atter- 
bom seizes  the  opportunity  for  a  solemn  poetic  reflection  upon 
old  times,  when  the  maiden  "went  up  in  flames  hand  in  hand 
with  her  bethrothed."7  In  some  lyrics,  terms  from  Norse  my- 
thology are  employed  merely  for  external  ornamentation  and 
color;  such  are  "  Freya's  Spinningwheel "  (Freyas  rock),  by 
Hammarskjold,  and  "The  Warrior  in  the  Northern  Forest" 
(Kampen  i  nordanskog),  by  Inge-1-gre-n.8 

i"Hafsfrun"  in  Kalender  for  1813,  pp.  6gff. 

2  Cf.  "  Skattgrafvaren  och  brudsmycket "  in  Kalender  for  1820,  pp.  SgS., 
and  note,  p.  89. 

3  Kalender  for  1821,  pp.  54ff. 

4  Andra  upplagan,  p.  69.     It  is  signed  S++. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  90,  signed  H.  R. 

6  Kalender  for  1821,  pp.  24 iff. 

7  Kalender  for  1817,  p.  80;  Poem,  pp.  79-81. 

8  Kalender  for  1812.     Tredje  upplagan,  pp.  58-59,  and  annual  for  1813. 
Tredje  upplagan,  pp.  65-67,  respectively.     "Freyas  Rock."     "  Rock,"  appar- 
ently for  "  Spinnrock,"  is  the  name  of  the  constellation  Orion  in  southern 
Sweden.     See  note,   annual   for    1812,  p.   58.     The  last  strophe   of  Ham- 
marskj old's  poem  is  a  good  example  of  Norse  dress : 

Sant  Broder !     Forstummad  ar  Baldurs  mun, 
Och  mer  dricker  Odin  ej  Mimers  brunn 
Och  Valhallas  murar  de  stortas  i  kras ; 
Men  Freya  hon  spinner  annu. 


50 

In  an  honest,  straightforward,  confessional  preface  to  the 
second  edition  of  Poetisk  Kalender  for  1812-1813,  dated  June 
9,  1816,  we  have  further  evidence  of  Norse  sympathies.  At- 
terbom  himself  is  there  speaking  of  his  past  encouragement 
from  a  small  circle  of  literary  sympathizers :  "  This  circle  ex- 
isted, it  expanded,  and  soon  Iduna  appeared,  which  showed 
even  the  more  skeptical  that  the  foundation  for  the  re-birth  of 
the  new  culture  lies  in  the  original  Swedish  sense  of  kinsman- 
ship.1  .  .  .  The  spirit  of  our  pious,  simple  folksongs,  as  well 
as  of  our  gigantic  heathen  monuments  (urminnen),  begin  at 
last  to  be  comprehensible,  even  to  ourselves,  since  they  have 
long  been  so  to  our  kinsmen.2  Novalis,  Tieck,  Oehlenschlager, 
and  Fouque  have  introduced  us  into  their  magic  world  of  eter- 
nal love  and  unwithering  youth,  of  loyal  heroic  power  and 
victorious  renunciation."3 

In  Poetisk  Kalender  for  1817  we  get  an  interesting  glimpse 
of  a  somewhat  different  phase  of  Atterbom's  Norse  studies. 
This  volume  contains  "The  Songs  of  Selma"  (Sangerna  i 
Selma),  a  "  Fantasy  from  Ossian."  They  are  not  translations, 
but  rather  free  adaptations  in  Swedish.  These  are  followed 
immediately  by  twenty  pages4  of  remarks  on  the  character  and 
problems  of  Ossian,  and  deal  briefly  with  the  viking  element 
in  the  Ossian  poems.  In  so  doing,  he  takes  issue  with  Mac- 
pherson  in  a  matter  of  chronology.  According  to  Atterbom — 
I  am  only  giving  his  views — Fingal  must  have  lived  "at  or 
shortly  after,  the  days  of  Harald  Fairhair"  (863-936)  ,5  and 
bases  his  claim  upon  chapters  20  and  22  of  the  Heimskringla 
by  Sturleson.  It  was  during  the  reign  of  Harald  Fairhair  that 
the  many  viking  expeditions  and  emigrations  to  Iceland,  Scot- 
land, and  the  Orkney  Islands  took  place.  "Harald  himself 
conquered  the  Orkney  Islands,  ravaged  the  coast  of  Scotland,"6 
and  went  as  far  as  the  Isle  of  Man ;  and  Sigurd,  the  Earl  of 
the  Orkneys,  took  possession  of  Caithness  and  Sutherland. 

1  Poetisk  Kalender  for  1812-13,  Tredje  upplagan,  p.  iv. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  xvii. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  xvii-xviii. 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  30-49,  for  1817. 
6  Ibid.,  p.  43. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  44. 


51 

"  One  knows  that  these  islands  for  a  long  time  were  under  the 
dominion  of  Norway;  but  not  until  the  reign  of  Harald  Fair- 
hair  (see  Saga,  Chap.  20)  were  they  discovered  and  settled,  as 
was  Iceland,  by  mighty  emigrating  races/'1  These  are  the  his- 
torical facts  as  Atterbom  gives  them  to  us,  and  he  follows  Stur- 
leson  religiously.1  Now,  in  view  of  these  facts,  Atterbom  rea- 
sons— and  it  must  be  admitted  plausibly — that  before  this  time 
(of  Harald  Fairhair)  Fingal  could  not  have  lived;  because  the 
Orkney  Islands  and  those  islands  situated  between  Scotland 
and  Norway  are  in  Ossian  controlled  by  worshipers  of  Lo- 
duinn  (Odin),  who  seem  plainly  to  stand  under  the  supreme 
rule  of  the  kings  of  Scandinavia  (Lochlin),  or  at  least  in  imme- 
diate relation  with  Lochlin."2 

Atterbom  took  an  interest  in  folklore.  Following  the  ex- 
ample of  Brentano  and  Arnim  in  "  Des  Knaben  Wunderhorn," 
and  encouraged  by  the  examples  of  his  fellow-countrymen, 
Geijer  and  Afzelius,  whose  folksongs  had  begun  to  appear  in 
1814,  Atterbom  published  a  collection  of  folk-lore  in  Poetisk 
Kalender  for  1816.  The  group  of  songs  itself  is,  to  be  sure, 
not  very  remarkable  and  it  is  not  a  large  group.  The  two  divi- 
sions of  ballad-like  "  romances  "  and  those  of  a  more  distinctly 
lyrical  character  occupy  only  119  pages  in  a  pocket-size  volume. 
Nor  are  they  very  important  for  us,  since  the  oldest  romances 
are  taken  from  the  fifteenth  century  and  the  pure  "  songs  "  are, 
for  the  most  part,  from  the  comparatively  modern  period  of 
Gustavus  Vasa  (1521-1560)  and  his  sons  and  from  the  seven- 
teenth century.3  But,  as  we  might  expect  from  Atterbom's 
usual  method,  his  collection  is  prefaced  by  a  lengthy  discourse 
on  European  and  Scandinavian  folklore,  about  the  sources  of 
his  own  songs,  about  the  fundamental  differences  between 
Northern  and  Southern  poetry,  and  about  the  perfectly  natural 

1  The  exact  time  of  Harald's  western  voyages,  however,  is  not  known, 
I  think.     Iceland  was  discovered  in  863,  the  date  of  Harald's  ascension  to 
the  throne  of  Norway,  and  was  being  colonized  eleven  years  later.     Harald 
is  said  to  have  undertaken  his  expedition  about  880,  or  a  little  later.     Cf. 
Hildebrand :   Translation  of  "  Heimskringla "    (Konungasagor),  p.   5,  note 
2,  and  p.  63,  note  i. 

2  Kalender  for  1817,  pp.  43-44. 

3  See  Forord  (Preface)  to  Poetisk  Kalender  for  1816,  p.  x.     This  preface 
is  dated  December  20,  1815. 


52 

transition  from  Norse  heathenism  to  Christianity  in  Scandi- 
navia. The  treatment  of  these  songs  often  leads  our  enthu- 
siasm back  to  primitive  times.  Then,  almost  imperceptibly,  he 
makes  digressions  and  tells  us  incidentally  (i)  of  his  early 
studies  of  the  sagas,  (2)  of  what  we  may  call  his  Rudbeckian- 
ism,  (3)  of  his  later  intentions  along  Gothic  lines,  (4)  and  of 
the  forebodings  of  Christianity  in  Norse  mythology.  These 
indisputable  testimonies  from  Atterbom  himself  need  no  dis- 
cussion; I  desire  simply  to  present  them  here  as  such  and  I 
shall  illustrate  these  four  points  by  quotations  in  the  order 
named. 

1 i )  "  The  genius  of  skalds  granted  that  my  birth  took  place  in  a 
remote  woodland.    Here,  from  the  very  time  I  lay  at  my  mother's 
breast,  I  grew  up  among  sagas  and  songs,  and  from  my  third  year, 
when  the  first  book  was  put  into  my  hand,  to  my  tenth,  when  I 
for  the  first  time  left  my  parents'  home,  I  seldom  had  any  other 
company  outside  of  them  than  those  characters  I  got  from  Sturle- 
son  and  Verelius,  mingled  with  Corneille's  heroes  and  the  dreams 
with  which  I  populated  my  horizon  in  great  numbers."1 

(2)  We  see  in  the  second  paragraph  of  his  preface  that 
Atterbom  likes  to  think,  like  Rudbeck  the  Elder,  of  "  the  polar 
regions,   consequently   Scandinavia   also,"   as    the   "primitive 
home  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  and  the  historical  seat 
of  the  celebrated  (allbesungna)  golden  age."2    Again,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  folksong: 

"Among  all  the  Gothic  (i.  e.  Germanic)  nations  the  conscious- 
ness finally  awakened  that  they  in  origin,  temperament,  and  lan- 
guage are  only  one  people ;  that  the  North,  the  mother  of  all  modern 
history,  which  from  the  beginning  of  the  migrations  to  the  present 
time,  has  created  all  that  is  great  and  eternal  on  earth,  does  not 
receive  a  foundation  and  a  definite  outline  for  her  majestic  ideal 
of  a  completed  temple  of  art  and  literature,  until  she  has  bathed 
herself  in  the  youthful  spring  of  her  primitive  life,"  etc.3 

This  needs  no  further  comment,  either  with  respect  to  in- 
volved form  or  super-patriotic  content,  except  that  this  Rud- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  xli. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  iii. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  xxvi-xxvii. 


53 

beckianism  did  not  seem  actually  to  mar  Atterbom's  critical 
estimates  of  literature  or  history  in  other  respects. 

(3)  In  order  "that  the  readers  of  Sweden  (male  and  female) 
may  in  a  clear  consciousness  grasp  the  nature  of  the  North's,  of 
Sweden's  original  feeling  (kanslosatt),  of  the  indestructible  char- 
acter of  the  race,  I  deliver  this  simple  wreath  of  the  Northern 
flowers  (i.  e.  folksongs)  into  their  hands.  [And  I  do  this]  with 
the  hope  of  being  able  soon  to  produce  a  richer  collection  from  the 
Icelandic  saga-world,  and  any  favor  for  the  sake  of  the  holy  couse, 
will  encourage  me  and  my  friends  upon  our  mountain-paths."1 

This  hope  was  realized  later,  at  least  in  part,  by  his  translations 
of  Edda-songs  which  are  incorporated  in  "  Svenska  siare  och 
skalder." 

But  to  turn  (4)  to  a  more  important  testimony  in  this  pref- 
ace. Atterbom's  attitude  toward  Norse  mythology  here  is 
neither  superficial  nor  fanatic,  but  thorough  and  sensible.  He 
sought  the  spirit  and  inner  truths  of  these  myths,  and  looked 
upon  them  as  upon  sacred  forerunners  of  Catholicism.  He 
wished,  above  all,  to  see  their  native  spirit  introduced  into  a 
national  poetry  and  did  not  mean  to  introduce  the  external 
heathen  culture  bodily,  as  seemed  to  be  the  intention  of  some 
of  the  more  radical  Goths.  "  It  is  not  my  intention,  as  many 
seem  to  think,  to  re-introduce  either  the  Asa-doctrines  or 
Catholicism,  either  seriously  or  as  external  dress  (uniform- 
vis),  as  some  of  Sweden's  recent  poets  employ  our  ancestors' 
myths  and  names  of  divinities."2  But  Norse  myths  possess  an 
intrinsic  value,  in  Atterbom's  opinion,  which  in  sublimity  sur- 
passes other  religious  systems.  Because  of  its  Oriental  origin 
and  its  development  among  the  people  of  a  powerful  race,  it 
"  forbodes,  most  profoundly  of  them  all,  the  coming  and  sig- 
nificance of  the  universal  religion  which  descended  to  us  from 
heaven  in  Christ."3  In  what  Atterbom  calls  the  "night-of- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  xxxix. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  xxvii.     This  whole  theoretical  problem  of  introducing  Norse 
mythology  into  Swedish  poetry  is  discussed  in  Chap.  Ill  to  which  I  refer. 

3  Ibid.,  p.   xxviii.     The  contemporary  belief  that  the  Asa-religion  was 
Oriental  in  its  origin  would  not  prevent  a  Rudbeckian,  it  seems  to  me,  from 
believing  that  Scandinavia  was  the  cradle  of  civilization.     Atterbom  seems 
to  have  believed  both,  in  modified  form.     But  about  four  thousand  years 

5 


54 

northern-lights"  (norrskensnatten)  of  the  Vgluspa  must  be 
seen  the  "aurora  of  the  days  of  the  gospel,"  in  order  to  see 
the  wild  beauty  of  Valhalla  and  not  of  the  wildness  alone. 
What  is  true  of  Norse  mythology  is  also  true  of  its  history. 
The  world  of  Christianity  was  developed  from  "this  terrible 
warrior-strength"  of  the  viking  age,  Balder  was  replaced  by 
the  person  of  Christ,  All  father  took  Odin's  place,  the  viking- 
expeditions  became  crusades,  and  Freya  becomes  not  only  the 
goddess  of  earthly  love  but  the  symbol  of  eternal  goodness."1 
Referring  in  particular  to  the  glory  of  the  Holy  Virgin  and 
her  symbolic  position  in  Catholicism,  Atterbom  writes : 

"One  must  understand  the  scattered  forebodings  (aningar)  of 
this  glory  in  the  sagas  about  Frigga  and  Freya,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  represented  as  delivered  over  to  demonic  influences  and  vices, 
and  constantly  searching  for  her  consort,  i.  e.,  as  a  burning  and 
unsatisfied  longing,  in  order  to  understand,  even  in  this  case,  the 
transition  from  heathenism  to  Christianity,  from  the  viking  period 
to  the  age  of  chivalry."2 

One  must  also — and  this  is  significant  of  Atterbom's  progress 
in  the  study  of  the  genetic  development  of  Swedish  culture — 
understand  these  sagas  in  order  to  comprehend  "how  the 
Northman-spirit  in  all  changes  has  been  essentially  the  same, 
in  every-day  life,  in  religion,  and  in  song,  and  how  each  change 
has  taken  place  merely  to  prepare  a  higher  development  of  this 
inborn  unity."3 

Such  was  the  character  of  Atterbom's  interest  in  the  Old 
Norse  element  during  the  Romantic  period.  To  be  sure,  At- 
terbom did  not  carry  out  all  his  good  Gothic  intentions  along 
creative  lines,  and  sometimes  his  enthusiasm  carried  him  too 
far  in  mere  rhetorical  praise  of  national  material;  but,  after  all, 
he  made  a  conscientious  effort  to  know  and  to  further  the 
knowledge  of  Scandinavian  sagas.  He  knew  more  about  the 
sagas  than  the  majority  of  the  Goths  and  was,  therefore,  a  real 

elapsed  between  the  traditional  date  of  creation  and  the  immigration  of 
the  Asas  into  Scandinavia,  which  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place  during 
the  last  century  B.  C. 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  xxviii-xxix. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  xxxi. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  xxxi. 


55 

"  Goth."  He  admitted  shortcomings  and  mistakes  in  concrete 
facts,  but  clung  stubbornly  to  his  own  esthetic  interpretations. 
He  was  an  antiquarian,  but  a  poetic  antiquarian  and  a  philoso- 
pher. He  was,  primarily,  a  lover,  interpreter,  critic,  and  his- 
torian of  Norse  myths ;  not  so  much  a  creative  artist.  In  his 
theoretical  views  of  Scandinavian  myths,  Atterbom  is  in  danger 
of  exaggerating  the  value  of  their  meaning,  but  his  theory  about 
their  introduction  into  Swedish  poetry  is  sensible.  Their 
power,  symbolism,  and  spirit  are  the  essentials,  and  he  is  in- 
clined to  believe  that  these  internal  characteristics  are  even 
preferable  to  those  of  Greek  mythology. 

What  we  demand  for  Atterbom  is  not  unwarranted  eulogy, 
but  honesty  and  justice;  a  realization  that  even  his  early  inter- 
est in  the  sagas  was  something  more  than  a  mere  predilection  d' 
artiste.  Many  of  his  contemporaries  were  loath  to  admit  this 
at  first,  and  so  his  work  was  underestimated  and  good  influences 
were  often  lost  sight  of  in  the  din  of  polemics.  But  after  the 
literary  battles  of  the  Fosforists  had  been  fought,  a  kind  of 
peace  declared,  and  the  final  reckoning  came,  some  glory  had  to 
be  awarded  to  Atterbom  while  he  was  yet  alive.  That  his  friends 
recognized  his  ability  is  natural.  Palmblad,  in  his  biography 
of  Ling,  refers  to  Atterbom  as  "  a  friend  who  was  at  home  in 
Old  Norse  monuments  and  who  was  especially  good  in  remem- 
bering them."1  Geijer  ends  his  treatment  of  the  Gothic  society, 
in  the  last  number  of  Iduna,  with  an  expression  of  gratitude  to 
Atterbom.  And  let  us  put  Atterbom  himself  on  the  witness- 
stand  again,  taking  the  testimony  of  the  defendant  for  what  it  is 
worth :  Ling  saw  finally  to  his  agreeable  surprise  that  in  Sweden 
he  could  hardly  find  anywhere  "  a  more  animated  study  (betrak- 
telse),  a  warmer  sympathy  for  the  Northern  saga-and-hero- 
world,"  than  among  those  with  whom  he  was  once  dissatisfied, 
i.  e.,  among  those  who  sympathized  more  with  southern  verse- 
forms,  i.  e.,  the  Fosforists.2 

It  is  a  curious  irony  of  fate  that  the  most  radical  Fosforist 

l  See  Biografiskt  Lexikon,  Vol.  8,  Uppsala,  1841,  p.  274. 

2Cf.  Atterbom:  "  Pehr  Henrik  Ling.  Intrades-Tal  i  Svenska  Aka- 
demien  den  29  Maj.  1840."  Printed  in  "  Minnesteckningar  och  tal."  Senare 
bandet.  Orebro,  1869,  P-  43- 


56 

became  the  successor  in  the  Swedish  Academy  to  the  most  radi- 
cal Goth,  Ling,  and,  as  such,  became  his  biographer  and  critic.1 
In  Atterbom's  inaugural  address  on  Ling,  we  find  a  splendid 
proof  that  the  early  saga  interest  of  Atterbom  had  been  genuine : 
he  has  continued  his  Norse  studies,  he  has  actually  read  the 
colossal  epic  "Asarne"  (918  pages) — most  contemporaries 
did  not — and  now  gives  a  final,  mature  estimate  of  Ling.  But 
Atterbom  is  still,  in  1840,  a  Romanticist;  a  poetic  esthete  who 
looks  up  to  Norse  mythology  with  religious  reverence.  In  this 
respect  Ling  could  never  have  found  a  more  worthy  successor. 
Atterbom  believes  absolutely  that  our  Norse  forefathers'  Welt- 
anschauung was  founded  on  a  religious  principle  which  was 
belligerent  in  its  essence.  He  observes  that  even  war  may  be  a 
religious  meeting  especially  when  waged  against  the  powers  of 
darkness.2  And  he  places  the  vikings  under  this  category. 
They  must  often  have  appeared  to  him  as  celestial  emissaries, 
and  the  tragedy  of  their  lives  was  merely  a  mirror  of  the  lives 
of  the  gods.3  Norse  mythology  is  a  "  hero-religion." 

"Throughout  the  heroic  life  there  was  a  religious  meaning  in- 
fused. The  same  war  which  the  Asas  in  the  invisible  world  carried 
on  against  the  giants  and  the  trolls,  was  carried  on  by  their  human 
analogs  (afbild),  the  inhabitants  .  .  .  ruled  by  the  Asas,  against 
the  uncivilized  tribes  who,  in  their  savagery  and  in  their  gloomy 
wilderness,  represented  the  palpable  counterpart  of  the  giants' 
home  or  Jotunheim."* 

Atterbom,  then,  had  retained  practically  the  same  theoretical 
view  of  Norse  mythology  for  thirty  years,  ever  since  he  began 
to  edit  the  Fosforos,  infusing  into  it  an  extraordinarily  deep 
spirituality  and  meaning.  The  vikings  then  became  the  apos- 
tles of  this  extraordinary  religion,  and  as  such  he  thought  that 
some  of  their  bloody  escapades  might  be  excused.  It  is  not  our 
intention  to  describe  further  our  Fosforist's  activity  in  this  line; 

1  Every  candidate  upon  election  to  membership  in  the  Swedish  Academy 
must  prepare  and,  upon  his  official  entrance,  give  a  public  address  upon 
the  life  and  works  of  his  predecessor.     Cf.  preceding  note. 

2  Cf.  "  Intrades-Tal,"  p.  45. 

3  Cf.  ibid.,  pp.  48ff. 
*  Cf.  ibid.,  p.  48. 


57 

what  Atterbom  did  later  as  a  mature  historian  of  Swedish  liter- 
ature is  well  known.  But  let  it  be  emphasized  here  that  the 
introduction  to  "  Swedish  Seers  and  Skalds  "  contains  fifteen 
chapters  (217  pages)  on  the  history  of  primitive  Sweden,  on 
Scandinavian  myths  and  on  the  spirit,  content,  and  metrics  of 
Icelandic  literature.  Another  chapter  (Chap.  17)  is  devoted  to 
folklore.  And  the  foundation  for  it  all  had  been  laid  while 
Atterbom  was  a  militant  Fosforist. 

Atterbom  was  not  the  only  Fosforist  to  be  moved  by  the 
Norse  spirit.  As  early  as  the  fall  of  1803,  seven  years  before 
Fasforos  appeared  and  two  years  before  Atterbom  became  iden- 
tified with  the  new  literary  coterie,  the  Friends  of  Belles-Let- 
tres1  (Vitterhetens  Vanner  or  V.V.)  exhibited  Gothic  tenden- 
cies. At  a  meeting  of  these  "  Friends  "  in  November  1803,  Per 
Neurling  (1783-1856),  a  student  at  Uppsala,  gave  a  short  ad- 
dress on  the  literature  of  the  old  Goths.  "  The  main  purpose 
(of  this  literature),  according  to  the  speaker,  was  to  praise  the 
deeds  and  battle-fire  of  the  heroes,  for  which  reason  the  skalds 
also  were  highly  respected  and  important  men  who  dwelt  at  the 
king's  courts."2  Now,  concerning  Meurling's  remarks  we  have 
a  significant  comment  by  Lorenzo  Hammarskjold,  whose  atti- 
tude toward  Old  Norse  literature  is  next  to  be  considered. 
Hammarskjold,  who  was  one  of  the  charter-members  of  the 
V.V.  and  next  to  Atterbom  the  most  prominent  of  the  Fosfor- 
ists,  writes  to  Livijn,  Nov.  22,  1803:  "Last  Sunday  we  [the 
members  of  the  V.V.]  had  a  meeting.  [After  speeches  by  two 
other  members  there]  came  finally  Meurling's  address  on  the 
literature  of  the  Goths,  which  I  liked  almost  the  best.  The 
style  in  it  was  so  manly."3 

Again  on  March  2,  1806,  Hammarskjold  writes  the  same 
friend:  "While  I  have  been  here  (in  Thomestorp,  Ostergot- 
land)  I  have  studied  the  Hervarar  Saga  and  the  saga  of  Har- 

i  Cf.  Introduction,  p.  5.  Atterbom  became  a  member  of  this  literary  circle 
in  the  fall  of  1805.  He  was  the  last  youngster  to  receive  an  election.  Cf. 
Hjarne :  "  Dagen  fore  drabbningen,"  pp.  xx-xxi. 

2Cf.  ibid.,  p.  xlvi.  Hjarne  adds  the  comment  that  we  obtain  here  "a 
glimpse  of  that  spirit  which  fully  developed  gave  life  and  character  to  the 
Gothic  Society  and  its  literary  activity." 

3  Cf.  Hjarne:  as  above,  p.  40. 


58 

raud  and  Bose.  The  former  especially  is  rather  beautiful. 
Hjalmar's  death-song  is  truly  elegiac.1  .  .  .  Angantyr's  dis- 
course, after  he  has  murdered  his  brother  with  the  deadly  sword 
Tirfing,  is  a  masterpiece.  It  is  comparable  to  the  chorus  in  a 
Greek  tragedy."2 

As  a  matter  of  chronology,  then,  the  bitter  antagonist  of  the 
old  school,  Hammarskjold,  read  Icelandic  heroic  sagas  at  least 
seven  years  before  the  Gothic  Forbund  was  formed,  and  even 
before  he  was  associated  with  Atterbom.  In  a  review  of 
Oehlenschlager,  published  in  the  Lyceum  for  1810,  we  again  find 
traces  of  a  national  tendency.3  But  this  tendency  in  Ham- 
marskjold is,  after  all,  conservative  and  limited.  The  sagas 
found  favor  with  him,  in  part  because  they  were  little  known  and 
were  not  French.  Busy  with  his  Gallophobia  Hammarskjold 
was  prone  to  superficiality  and  haste,  so  that  his  work  in  the 
saga-field  is  spasmodic  and  of  questionable  value.  His  publi- 
cation of  the  Jomsvikinga  Saga,4  in  which  Rask  found  several 
mistakes,  and  the  collection  of  folk-sagas  in  1819  was  of  no 
great  consequence.  Tegner  had  no  sympathy  for  Hammar- 
skjold whatsoever,  and  not  one  iota  of  faith  in  his  ability.  In 
fact,  Tegner  goes  to  the  other  extreme  and  in  his  estimate  be- 
comes severe  and  unjust.  When  the  Gothic  Forbund  sought  to 
import  an  Icelander  to  stimulate  the  interest  and  work  in  Old 
Norse,  Tegner  expressed  the  hope  to  Adlerbeth  that  the  sagas 
would  not  land  in  Hammarskj old's  hands,  who  understood 
neither  Icelandic  nor  Swedish.5 

A  study  of  the  letters  in  Frunck's  collection  throws  some  light 
on  Hammarskj  old's  early  attitude  toward  Old  Norse  literature. 
It  seems  undecided  and  inconsistent.  Hammarskjold  certainly 
did  not  possess  that  constant  enthusiasm  for  the  Gothic  Danes 

1  Hjalmar  is  killed  in  combat  with  Angantyr.     See  Chap.  5  of  Hervarar 
Saga  which  contains  also  his  death-song. 

2  Cf.  Hjarne:  "  Dagen  fore  drabbningen,"  p.  232.     The  date  of  the  letter 
is  given  there  as  1804,  but  this  is  a  misprint  corrected  on  the  last  page. 

s  Cf.  Malmstrom :  "  Svenska  vitterhetens  historia,"  IV,  p.  370. 

4  Cf.  above,  p.  43.  For  Rask's  recension  see  Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning 
for  April  5  (No.  14),  1817. 

5Cf.  letter  to  Adlerbeth  of  April  19,  1818.  Tegner:  "  Skrifter,"  Jubel- 
festupplaga,  V,  p.  150. 


59 

that  Atterbom  possessed.  He  writes  to  Livijn,  October  i,  1810: 
"  In  the  meantime  I  took  a  trip  to  Copenhagen,  but  could  not 
endure  it  more  than  a  week.  The  Danes  are  undoubtedly  the 
worst  of  all  flesh-eaters  (kottatande  varelser)  that  God  has 
created.  They  are  absolutely  nothing  but  imitators  and  their 
coarse  Germanomania  is  tenfold  more  unsavory  than  the  Gallo- 
mania of  our  own  worthy  countrymen."1  From  two  letters  by 
C.  A.  Agardh  (1785-1859)  to  Hammarskjold,  we  learn  that  the 
latter  was  interested  in  Norse  mythology  but  objected  to  its  use 
in  modern  poetry.2  And  yet  he  thought  it  depended  upon  the 
method  of  treatment  and  upon  who  treated  it.  His  friend  Li- 
vijn, who  was  contemplating  a  drama  on  Odin,  is  encouraged 
thus :  "  I  cannot  but  wish  you  firmness  in  your  decision  and 
tenacity  of  purpose  with  respect  to  your  '  Odin/  although  I 
do  not  understand  how  you  can  obtain  dramatic  unity  in  this 
subject."3  The  national  tendency  of  Atterbom  is  also,  of  course, 
applauded  by  Hammarskjold.  He  writes  to  Livijn,  September 
12,  1814 :  "  You  are  right,  Atterbom  is  the  soul  of  the  new  sect 
and  the  one  of  all  its  members  who  has  decidedly  the  truest 
calling.  To  be  sure,  he  cannot  become  a  Goethe  or  a  Tieck  for 
the  simple  reason  that  every  genius  must  remain  himself."  .  .  . 
He  is  "too  much  of  an  ardent  Christian  to  compete  with  Geijer 
for  Brage's  oak-leaf  wreath,4  although,  from  my  view-point, 
the  dead  Norse  myth  must  be  treated  as  in  that  truly  beautiful 
'  Skaldarmal,'  if  anything  of  importance  is  to  remain  of  the 
whole  experiment."5  In  another  letter  to  Livijn,  December  12, 

1  Frunck :  "  Bref,"  III,  p.  146. 

2  Letters  of  December  6,  1810  (III,  p.  175),  and  February  2,  1811   (IV, 
pp.  227-28).     The  precise  nature  of  Hammarskj old's  answer  must  be  based 
on  a  letter  from  Hammarskjold  to  Agardh.     This  letter,  however,  is  not 
published  by  Frunck  and  I  have  been  unable,  as  yet,  to  learn  whether  this 
letter  is  in  existence.     The  other  occasion  for  Hammarskj  old's  objections 
to  the  employment  of  Norse  myths  in  poetry  was  his  review  of  Oehlen- 
schlager's   "  Poetiske   skrifter "    in   the   first   number   of   Lyceum.     I    have 
been  unable  to  obtain  a  copy  of  this  short-lived  paper.     Only  two  numbers 
ever  appeared,  one  in  1810  and  another  in  the  following  year. 

3  Letter  of  April  15,  1811,  IV,  p.  278. 

*  Referring,  of  course,  to  Geijer's  bardic  (or  oak-leaf),  Viking-Ossianic, 
national  poems  in  the  first  number  of  Iduna. 

5  Frunck:  "Bref,"  V,  p.  351.  Hammarskjold  himself,  though,  had  used 
the  names  of  the  Old  Norse  gods  as  a  poetic  dress.  Cf.  above,  page  49, 
note  8. 


60 

i8n,  we  see  that  Hammarskjold  kept  well  posted  on  plans  for 
future  publications  in  Gothic  circles  and  welcomed  their  appear- 
ance. Very  soon  there  was  to  appear  "an  excellent  transla- 
tion" of  the  Hervarar  Saga  (by  A.  A.  Afzelius),  a  new  num- 
ber of  Iduna,  Ling's  "  Gylfe,"  etc.1 

Hammarskjold  did  some  work  for  Iduna  of  a  philological 
and  historical  character.  In  the  second  number  there  appeared 
a  description  of  a  manuscript  of  the  prose  Edda,  dated  Novem- 
ber 5,  1811.  Another  article  by  Hammarskjold,  dated  March 
5,  1814,  appeared  in  the  fifth  number.  This  article  is  entitled 
"  To  the  Editors  of  Iduna,  Concerning  Fr.  Ruhs's  (of  Germany) 
Recently  Published  Treatise  on  the  Origin  of  Icelandic  Poetry/' 
Riihs2  had  attacked  the  age  and  genuineness  of  the  sagas ;  he 
had  attempted  to  prove  a  Christian  origin  for  Norse  mythology, 
a  wholesale  borrowing  from  Greek  and  Roman  myths,  and  held 
that  Icelandic  was,  to  a  large  extent,  borrowed  from  the  Anglo- 
Saxon.2  In  answer  to  this  contention,  Hammarskjold  comes 
out  with  an  unmerciful  attack  on  Riihs  and  with  a  strong,  patri- 
otic and  enthusiastic  defense  of  the  Norse  myths.  Hammar- 
skjold is  wild  with  excitement  to  think  that  anyone  should  attempt 
to  steal  his  own  mythology.  Shallow  as  it  may  seem,  an  ex- 
tensive and  thoughtfully  evolved  mythological  system  is  suffi- 
cient proof  to  Hammarskjold  for  the  human  origin  and  original 
development  of  the  Scandinavian  languages.3  And  how  could 
Norse  literature  have  a  Christian  origin?  Would  a  Christian 
monk  furnish  models  for  pagan  poems?4  With  great  pride 
Hammarskjold  refers  also  to  national  manners  and  customs 
which  originated  in  Norse  mythology,  points  out  that  it  is  an 
integral  part  of  the  Volksglaube  and  not  a  later  interpolation. 
Incidentally  we  notice  some  effort  on  the  part  of  Hammarskjold 
to  master  Icelandic  at  this  time.  He  has  had  under  his  care 

iFrunck:  "  Bref,"  V,  p.  397- 

2  Christian  Friedrich  Riihs  (1781-1820).     Ruhs's  article,  which  had  ap- 
peared the  year  before  (1813),  bore  the  title:   "  Ueber  den  Ursprung  der 
islandischen  Poesie  aus  der  angelsachsischen,  nebst  Bemerkungen  iiber  die 
nordische  Dichtkunst  und  Methodologie,   ein  notwendiger  Anhang  zu  den 
neuesten  Untersuchungen." 

3  Iduna,  No.  5,  p.  101. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  105. 


61 

(in  1814) — and  this  is  important — "  Icelandic  manuscripts 
from  various  ages  "  for  eight  years,1  but  detects  no  similarity  in 
letters  between  Icelandic  and  Anglo-Saxon,  although  he  has 
had  a  manuscript,  the  Codex-  Aureus,  in  front  of  him. 

Hammarskjold  was  something  of  an  antiquarian  also.  In  the 
same  number  (5)  of  Iduna,  we  find  in  a  note  (p.  54)  to  an 
article  on  ancient  "  Funeral  Mounds  "  by  P.  W.  Tholander,  that 
Hammarskjold  had  in  1812  personally  investigated  or  counted 
fourteen  such  funeral  mounds  near  Tuna  Satesgard  in  Calmar 
Lan. 

Hammarskj  old's  early  attitude  towards  Norse  antiquity 
seems,  then,  to  be  something  as  follows :  he  has  a  real  interest 
in  it,  he  welcomes  publications  of  heroic  sagas  and  studies  them 
and  their  manuscripts,  but  is  skeptical  about  the  use  of  Norse 
myths  in  Swedish  poetry.  If  they  are  to  be  employed  at  all  the 
author  should  follow  the  channel  designated  by  Atterbom  in 
his  "  Skaldarmal,"  that  is,  the  myths  should  be  used  merely  as 
poetico-symbolic  embellishments,  or  as  a  basis  for  reflection  upon 
Scandinavian  antiquity.  But  Hammarskjold  is  a  staunch,  patri- 
otic supporter  of  the  genuineness  of  these  myths.  Let  antiquity 
remain  antiquity,  however,  do  not  attempt  to  recast  it  and  re- 
introduce  it  bodily  into  modern  literature.  Contemporaries 
accused  him  of  inaccuracy  and  dilettantism.  In  his  judgments 
he  is  inclined  to  be  prejudiced  and  influenced  by  the  personal 
element  of  friendship  or  animosity.  His  theoretical  views  are 
rather  conservative,  a  fact  which  is  better  illustrated  in  his  atti- 
tude toward  the  introduction  of  Norse  myths  into  plastic  arts. 

This  attitude  is  found  expressed  in  Hammarskj  old's  last  lec- 
ture on  the  history  of  art.2  The  classical  conception  of  the 
universality  of  art  is  the  predominating  tone.  A  very  injurious 
prejudice,  according  to  Hammarskjold,  is  the  slavish  imitation 
of  the  antique  in  order  to  obtain  the  beautiful. 

"  And  yet,"  says  Hammarskjold,  "  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  just  as 
violently  opposed  to  the  idea  of  those  who  advocate  such  a  severe 

1  Ibid.,  p.  91.     Hammarskjold  does  not  state,  however,  how  much  he  has 
studied  them. 

2  Cf.  below,  p.  103  and  note  3.     These  lectures  were  given  in  the  spring 
of  1814  and  were  repeated  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year. 


62 

nationalizing,  that  the  commendable  in  Swedish  art  is  restricted  to 
that  which  a  Swede  only  can  understand.  This  is  the  right  way  to 
fall  into  mannerisms.  Art  is,  on  the  contrary,  like  virtue,  truth  and 
faith,  the  property  of  all  humanity,  and  its  purpose  is  precisely  to 
destroy  all  national  and  statistical  boundaries  and  to  unite  the 
various  kinds  of  peoples  into  one  single  race.  And  it  is  just  as 
certain  as  the  sun  shines  that  the  artist  who  has  received  the  all- 
power  of  genius  can  make  a  Zeus  or  an  Apollo  .  .  .  without  de- 
stroying the  given  type  .  .  .  just  as  Swedish  as  a  Thor  or  a 
Blatter."* 

Whether  we  agree  with  Hammarskjold  in  this  particular  or 
not  makes  little  difference  here.  We  cannot  deny  the  univer- 
sality of  plastic  art,  but  whether  a  Swedish  Zeus  would  be  as 
Swedish  as  a  Thor  or  not  is  at  least  open  to  doubt.  That  a 
national  art  based  on  Norse  myths,  was  possible  (see  Chap. 
Ill)  was  proved  later.  But  the  important  point  here  is  that 
Hammarskjold  warns  diplomatically  against  exaggeration  in 
either  direction  and  thus  anticipates,  in  one  way,  the  attitude  of 
Geijer  in  iSi/.2 

Hammarskj old's  later  interest  in  the  national  field  does  not 
differ  materially  from  his  early  interest.  There  is  seldom  any 
of  that  consistent  Atterbomian  enthusiasm  and  the  personal  ele- 
ment and  prej  udice  are  still  in  evidence.  But  in  Hammarskj  old's 
work  as  an  historian  of  Swedish  literature,  there  is  discernible 
a  greater  friendliness  toward  the  Goths  and  an  effort  for  more 
thorough  scholarship.  His  "Swedish  Literature"  (Svenska 
vitterheten),  where  he  gives  an  account  of  the  work  that  has 
been  done  in  Old  Norse  literature,3  is,  to  be  sure,  prejudiced 
and  unscientific  yet  he  is  not  blind  to  shortcomings  in  trans- 
lations and  poor  codices,  which  shows  an  effort  toward  correct- 
ness if  not  an  actual  accomplishment. 

The  articles  on  Swedish  literature  from  1800-1828,  which 
Hammarskjold  wrote  in  German  for  the  Leipzig  Hermes  in 

1  Hammarskjold :  "  Utkast  till  de  bildande  konsternas  historia."     Stock- 
holm, 1817,  p.  441. 

2  Geijer  warned  against  exaggeration  in  the  use  of  Norse  myths  in  art 
in  "  Betraktelser  med  afseende  pa  nordiska  myternas   anvandande  i   skon 
konst."     Cf.  below,  Chap.  Ill,  pp.  i2off. 

3  See  second  edition  by  P.  A.  Sonden,  pp.  178^. 


63 

1823-1824,  are  unusually  interesting  and  illuminating  for  our 
study  of  this  phase  of  Hammarskj old's  activity.  He  lashes  P. 
'A.  Granberg  for  his  "Jorund"  as  unmercifully  as  does  Atter- 
bom.  He  calls  the  criticism  by  the  Swedish  Academy,  which 
had  honored  Granberg  for  his  tragedy,  "trite,"1  and  believes 
that  "Jorund"  can  serve  as  a  model  for  the  way  a  tragedy 
should  not  be  written.2  The  feeling  against  the  Academicians, 
then,  still  prevails  in  this  Fosforist,  even  if,  as  we  shall  see  later, 
Granberg  deserved  some  of  the  adverse  criticism.  Tegner  he 
calls  rightly  the  most  important  author  in  Sweden,  but  thinks 
he  may  be  praised  too  much  and  admonishes  readers  to  remem- 
ber that  he  is  a  product  of  his  time.3  Later  our  historian  speaks 
very  favorably  of  Iduna;  he  calls  "  Frithiof  "  by  Tegner  "ex- 
cellent," recognizes  the  popularity  of  the  Gothic  organ,  and 
terms  its  poems  "  glorious."4  Afzelius  is  a  special  favorite  of 
Hammarskjold.  After  speaking  of  his  work  in  the  Eddas, 
Hammarskjold  says:  "He  has  collected  and  edited  the  old, 
wonderful  folk-romances  with  noble  diligence  and  patience."6 
Charlotta  d'Albedyhll's  "  Gefion  "  does  not  get  the  same  enthusi- 
astic reception  from  Hammarskjold  as  it  did  from  Atterbom. 
He  admits  that  the  form  is  beautiful,  but  declares  that "  the  char- 
acter of  the  little  epic  is  neither  heroic,  nor  romantic,  gnomic, 
religious,  nor  idyllic,  but  high-aristocratic,  in  order  to  eulogize 
the  family  of  the  authoress  by  a  mythical  origin."6  The  Goth 
Geijer  gets  the  comparatively  large  space  of  four  pages7  in 
Hammarskj old's  necessarily  brief  treatment,  but  the  critic  is 
interested  mostly  in  Geijer's  philosophy.  The  national  "  Agne" 
by  Ling  becomes  a  "  fatalistic  drama,"  written  in  the  antique 
style,  with  a  "  large  number  of  the  most  glorious  songs  in  it," 
but  "  Eylif  den  Gothiske  "8  written  by  the  same  author  after 

1  Hermes,  Leipzig,  1823,  No.  XVII,  p.  249. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  250. 

s  Ibid.,  pp.  255-56. 

4  Hermes  for  1823,  No.  XX,  p.  355. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  305. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  306. 

7  Ibid.,  pp.  321-25. 

8  Both  "  Agne  "  and  "  Eylif  den  Gothiske  "  are  now  published  in  Vol.  2 
of  Ling's  Samlade  arbeten.     Cf.  below,  Chap.  Ill,  note  5,  p.  103. 


64 

the  French  style  in  Alexandrines,  is  "  the  worst."  As  a  Roman- 
ticist Hammarskjold  hopes  that  Ling  will  soon  finish  his  work  on 
the  symbolism  of  the  Eddas  (Eddornas  sinnebildslara)1  and  in 
his  next  article  he  lauds  the  system,  thoroughness  and  deeper 
significance  of  the  Eddas,  which  are  now  expounded  in  Ling's 
work.2  The  comment  on  Count  von  Skjoldebrand's  "Odin"3 
presupposes  some  knowledge  of  the  original  source.  Ham- 
marskjold has  discovered  that  Skjoldebrand  has  followed  the 
historical  Saxo  more  closely  than  the  Eddas,  hence  the  charac- 
ters are  more  men  than  gods  and  excite  greater  sympathy  in  the 
reader.  On  the  other  hand,  this  process — and  notice  the  Ro- 
manticist here  again — has  drawn  the  author  "  from  the  charm 
of  the  wonderful."4 

Hammarskjold  had  an  unmistakable  admiration  for  popular 
poetry  and  in  his  introduction  to  "  Svenska  vitterheten "  he 
praises  Afzelius,  Geijer  and  Atterbom,  who  published  collec- 
tions of  folksongs  after  models  in  Germany,  England  and  Den- 
mark.5 Here  is  sympathy,  then,  for  the  genuinely  national. 
But  Hammarskjold  did  some  actual  work  in  this  line  also.  Gei- 
jer in  a  note  to  his  article  on  "The  Old  Norse  Folksong" 
(Den  gamla  nordiska  folkvisan,  1814)  states  that  he  has  Ham- 
marskjold to  thank  for  several  notes  on  popular  poetry.6  And 
in  Svensk  Litter  atur-Tidning  for  March  27,  1813  (No.  12),  we 
have  an  article  by  Hammarskjold  himself  on  old  Swedish  folk- 
songs. He  dwells  on  their  importance  for  the  study  of  the 
language  and  thought  of  the  olden  peoples,  and  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  romantic  art  of  poetry  in  the  Scandinavian  coun- 
tries. He  gives  characteristics  and  titles  of  manuscripts  of 
Swedish  folksongs  that  have  come  under  his  observation.  It  is 
of  some  consequence  to  note — and  this  is  the  justification  for 
this  paragraph — that  Hammarskjold  urges  a  collection  of  these 

1  Hermes  for  1823,  No.  XX,  pp.  330-31. 

2  Hermes  for  1824,  No.  XXII,  pp.  201-2.     Cf.  below,  Chap.  Ill,  p.  104. 
"Eddornas  sinnebildslara"  was  published  in  1819.     It  remained  a  fragment. 

3  See  above,  p.  43. 

4  Hermes  for  1824,  No.  XXII,  p.  212. 

5  Cf.  second  edition,  published  by  Sonden,  p.  17. 

6  E.  G.  Geijer:  Samlade  skrifter,  Stockholm,  1874-76,  I,  p.  149. 


65 

folksongs  a  year  before  the  Goths  began  the  publication  of  them. 
Hammarskjold  writes :  "  It  is  about  time  that  we  follow  the 
example  of  our  kinsmen,  the  Englishmen,  Germans,  and  Danes, 
and  collect  and  publish  these  oldest  relics  of  national  poetry  in 
which  the  primitive  individuality  is  expressed  so  powerfully  and 
often  so  beautifully." 

From  an  historical  and  chronological  standpoint  there  is  no 
member  of  the  New  Romantic  Movement  who  can  serve  as  a 
better  illustration  for  us  than  another  charter  member  of  V.V., 
a  friend  of  Hammarskjold,  and  later  a  leading  contributor  to 
Poly  fern,  Clas  Livijn.  The  attitude  of  this  young,  interesting 
enthusiast  toward  the  Norse  saga  is  a  natural  one,  and  in  many 
ways  typical  of  his  contemporaries,  even  among  his  own  literary 
circle.  It  is  the  attitude  of  any  would-be  revolutionist  toward 
a  new  movement.  At  first,  it  is  not  felt  as  decidedly  patriotic, 
but  as  a  poetic  protest  against  French  classicism  and  the  Acade- 
micians. Then,  later,  when  this  tendency  had  assumed  a  more 
definitely  national  character,  and  was  in  danger  of  becoming 
ridiculously  national,  the  shafts  were  often  turned  against  the 
new  Gothic  mania.  Not  against  the  principles  of  the  Gothic 
movement,  be  it  noted,  for  the  Fosforists  were  in  sympathy 
with  them,  but  against  exaggerations  in  the  practice  of  them. 
This  was  not  done  by  Atterbom,  but  it  was  done  by  several  of 
the  other  Romanticists.  Hammarskjold,  as  we  have  just  seen, 
was  opposed  to  an  extreme  nationalizing  tendency,1  and  later 
(see  below,  Chap.  III.)  Vitalis  and  Dahlgren  poked  fun  at  it. 
This  is  the  case  with  Livijn.  We  detect  from  the  first  a  gen- 
uine interest  in  the  sagas,  with  ambitious  plans  for  two  dramas 
and  two  operas  based  on  them,  but  in  the  middle  of  the  second 
decade,  when  the  Gothic  Forbund  began  to  assume  an  alarming 
character,  Livijn  ridiculed  its  extreme  tendencies  and  especially 
its  member  Ling. 

The  period  of  Livijn's  active  interest  in  Old  Norse  material 
covers  about  a  decade,  beginning  in  1803.  In  an  undated  letter 

1  Cf.  above,  pp.  61-62.  Cf.  also  Sterner:  Den  nordiska  mytens  anvand- 
ning  i  bildande  konst.  Stockholm,  1881,  p.  38.  In  Svensk  Utter  atur-Tidning 
for  1818,  No.  49,  Hammarskjold  criticises  severely  recent  plastic  produc- 
tions, both  of  the  Old  and  the  New  School. 


66 

from  1803,  Livijn  writes  to  Hammarskjold :  "  I  have  now  made 
the  plan  for  a  drama,  '  Gyritha.'  The  theme  is  from  Saxo 
Grammaticus.  I  intend  to  send  it  in  (to  V.V.),  although  it 
is  yet  uncertain,  since  I  have  not  written  anything  upon  it."1 
In  a  following  undated  letter  he  sends  the  plan  of  his  intended 
three-act  play  to  Hammarskjold.  The  drama,  however,  was 
never  finished  and  only  a  part  of  the  first  act  was  ever  written. 
In  another  undated  letter,  undoubtedly  from  the  middle  of  De- 
cember, i8o3,2  we  learn  that  the  first  act  was  completed  and 
that  Livijn  himself  was  pleased  with  it,  but  says  that  "Gyritha" 
has  reverted  to  its  darkness  and  will  probably  never  receive  a 
place  in  the  learned  world  through  me.3  In  the  same  letter 
we  learn  that  Livijn  is  reading  English  and  Danish  authors  and 
is  particularly  interested  in  their  Norse  themes.  He  has  not 
seen  any  "  happier  imitation  of  the  Old  Goths  "  than  Gray's 
"The  Bard"  and  "The  Descent  of  Odin."  Both,  and  par- 
ticularly the  former,  possess  a  Pindaric  loftiness  and  the  strong, 
unbending  character  of  the  Northman.  O,  how  charming  is 
the  bard's  address  to  the  king !  You  could  imagine  the  sound 
of  Ossian's  harp  calling  down  all  misfortunes  upon  a  wicked 
king  and  celebrating  in  song  the  fallen  heroes !  Ewald  in  the 
Valkyrs  of  his  "Balder"  has  left  us  an  imitation  of  his 
(Gray's)  "  Fatal  Sisters,"  which  is  undoubtedly  poorer  than 
Gray's.4 

A  couple  of  years  later,  Novembers,  1805,  Livijn  has  another 
plan  in  mind.  Again  he  confides  in  his  friend  Hammarskjold : 
"  I  am  pondering  a  great  deal  over  an  opera,  where  I  could 
introduce  our  Northern  divinities,  and  where  all  ballets,  changes, 
etc.,  should  be  produced  by  visions "  called  forth  by  witch- 
craft a  la  '  Macbeth.'5  Here  it  is  Norse  mythology  and  Shake- 
speare which  hover  in  Livijn's  mind  simultaneously,  and  the 
prospective  author  is  seeking  an  harmonious  union  of  Old 

1  Hjarne :  Dagen  fore  drabbningen,  p.  49.     Mortensen  puts  the  date  of 
this  letter  December  i,   1803.     See  Clas  Livijns  dramatiska  forfattarskap, 
p.  62,  note  i. 

2  See  Hjarne:  Dagen  fore  drabbningen,  p.  59.     (See  note.) 

3  Ibid.,  p.  62. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  62. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  202. 


67 

Norse  content  with  Shakespearean  method.  In  the  beginning 
of  1806  he  seems  to  have  found  a  subject  for  his  intended 
opera.  He  is  to  study  all  possible  Gothic  sagas,  because  he  has 
his  "head  full  of  plans  for  an  opera";  " '  Balder's  Death/ 
rimeless,  and  in  the  same  meter  that  you  find  among  Ice- 
landers. As  far  as  possible  I  want  it  Gothic  and  not  Quinaultic. 
You  know  that  the  Goths  sang  in  violent  passion  against  one 
another.  On  this  point  see  any  one  of  the  sagas."1 

Livijn  considered  the  old  Icelandic  sagas  an  essential  part 
of  Swedish  antiquity,  in  which  respect  he  resembled  Atterbom, 
and  so,  in  answer  to  a  letter  from  Hammarskjold,2  Livijn  com- 
mends his  friend  warmly  for  studying  the  old  saga  material: 
"That  you  have  studied  the  old  Gothic  sagas  pleases  me  so 
much  the  more,  since  that  shall  be  my  foremost  study  in  time. 
I  find  it  indefensible  that  our  literary  practitioners  neglect  en- 
tirely the  ancient  Swedish  literature."3  There  could  be  no 
saner  or  more  national  thought  expressed  anywhere  than  is  ex- 
pressed here  in  this  champion  of  the  Fosforists.  A  plan  of 
Livijn  to  study  the  "Gothic"  language  (here  Icelandic,  of 
course)  was  soon  to  be  realized,  at  least  in  part.  His  friend 
Hammarskjold  was  an  assistant  at  the  Royal  Library  in  Stock- 
holm, and  Livijn  hoped  through  his  help  to  gain  access  to  the 
treasures  of  the  library  and  acquire  enough  critical  knowl- 
edge of  Icelandic  to  be  able  to  express  his  "thoughts  clearly 
and  in  Swedish  concerning  the  poetry  of  the  Goths."  "  I  have 
now  commenced  to  study  old  Gothic,"  Livijn  writes;  "it  is  a 
divine  language,  but  I  see  that  I  cannot  acquire  the  perfection 
which  is  necessary  to  translate  such  products  correctly,  before 
midsummer."4  In  other  words,  Livijn  planned  translations 
from  Icelandic  poetry  and  expected  to  acquire  the  requisite 
proficiency  in  the  language  in  about  two  months.  It  was  a  bold 
and  commendable  plan,  even  if  not  feasible. 

As  a  Fosforist,  Livijn  took  a  sympathetic  interest  in  Gothic 
publications,  was  acquainted  with  past  editions  of  the  Eddas, 

1  See  undated  letter  to  Hammarskjold,  probably  from  February,   1806, 
in  Hjarne,  pp.  226—27. 

2  Letter  of  March  2,  1806. 

3  Hjarne:  Dagen  fore  drabbningen,  p.  233. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  237.     Letter  written  in  April,  1806. 


68 

and  was  very  enthusiastic  about  the  coming  translations  of  the 
Edda  by  Adlerbeth.  He  writes  to  Hammarskjold,  February 
23,  1811: 

"You  cannot  imagine  how  pleased  I  am  at  Adl(erb)eth's  enter- 
prise, in  which  I  wish  him  good  luck  with  all  my  heart,  because 
I  am  certain  that  his  work  will  be  good.  What  I  wish  is  that  he 
might  have  chosen  Sturleson's  Edda,  and  preferably  the  Uppsala 
copy  of  it,  on  account  of  its  Skalda-Kenninga,  which  as  far  as  I 
know  do  not  exist  anywhere  else.  The  reason  is  that  we  possess 
already  both  a  rather  good  translation  and  the  original  of  the 
Saemund-Edda  by  the  Arne-Magnussen  Foundation.  You  will  do 
me  a  real  favor  if  you  let  me  know  which  one  of  the  Eddas  he 
follows  and  if  the  original  text  is  included.  This  work  will  cer- 
tainly produce  a  kind  of  epoch  in  our  literature,  when  it  makes  the 
public  acquainted  with  the  literary  products  of  our  antiquity/'1 

Then,  in  this  same  letter,  Livijn  anticipates  the  danger  which 
might  arise  from  an  abuse  of  these  literary  products  and  ex- 
presses the  hope  that  Academicians  like  Markall  (Wallmark) 
and  Struthio  (Wallin)  will  not,  for  want  of  other  originality, 
concoct  out  of  them  a  sort  of  Swedism  which, "  beyond  a  doubt, 
would  be  more  distasteful  than  our  neighbors'  Danism." 

Livijn's  estimate  of  Atterbom's  "  Skaldarmal "  is  a  good 
example  of  Gothism  plus  that  prejudiced  eulogy  which  one 
Fosforist  was  wont  sometimes  to  give  another.  The  tone  is 
that  of  youthful  Schwarmerei,  expressed  in  a  realistic,  not  to 
say  naturalistic,  style : 

"At  last,  after  several  attempts,  I  have  obtained  a  copy  of 
Fosforos.  "  Skaldarmal "  is  above  all  commendation.  You  can 
easily  imagine  what  I  feel  from  the  description;  I  already  know  it 
by  heart;  I  walk  back  and  forth  on  the  floor,  spit  and  snap  my 
fingers,  and  repeat  one  tirade  after  another  in  a  loud  voice."2 

"  Skaldarmal "  represented,  then,  for  the  present,  both  to  Ham- 
marskjold and  to  Livijn,  the  national  poem,  par  excellence, 
where  Old  Norse  content  and  modern  form  were  in  harmony. 

1  Frunck :  "  Bref,"  IV,  pp.  242-43. 

2  See  letter  to  Hammarskjold  of  July   13,   1811.     Frunck:   "Bref,"  V, 
p.  317.     Livijn  refers,  of  course,  to  the  January-February  number  of  Fos- 
foros for  1811. 


69 

A  month  later  (August  14,  1811)  he  has  re-read  his  copy  of 
Fosforos.  He  has  found  several  poems  which  are  "the  product 
of  a  true  inspiration  "  and  of  these  "  Skaldarmal "  is  mentioned 
first.  He  cannot  praise  it  enough  and  believes  the  notes  to 
"  Skaldarmal "  excellent.  Atterbom's  real  purpose  as  a  poet 
is  not  yet  fully  developed,  though,  Livijn  believes,  but  "per- 
haps it  will  pass  over  into  a  striving  for  that  primitive  Norse 
spirit  which  is  revealed  in  all  Oehlenschlager's  work."  .  .  .1 

In  the  same  letter  we  get  ( I )  a  personal  estimate  of  the  Edda, 
(2)  of  Nyerup's  edition  of  it,  (3)  additional  commendation  of 
Adlerbeth's  undertaking,  (4)  the  doctrine  of  Gothism  as  a  cure 
for  the  contemporary  insipidity  in  literature,  (5)  a  warm  wel- 
come to  Iduna,  and,  lastly,  (6)  some  of  Livijn's  curious  views 
on  the  influence  of  Christianity  in  Sweden.  Livijn  writes : 

"  In  my  opinion  the  old  Edda  has  a  kind  of  dark  and  solemn  tone, 
combined  with  the  simplicity  which  appears  in  Tieck's  Volks- 
marchen  but  Nyerup  has  made  this  tone  familiar  instead  of  simple, 
and  instead  of  being  solemn  it  has  a  trite  holiday-attire  (helgdags- 
platt).  But,  nevertheless,  we  owe  Adlerbeth  a  large,  yes,  an 
almost  enormous  debt  of  gratitude  for  his  enterprise  which  will 
certainly  be  worth  while.  All  those  who  have  been  here  (in 
Kongslena)  have  read  it  (Adlerbeth's  Edda),  all  with  a  kind  of 
astonishment,  almost  doubt,  that  anything  of  that  kind  could  ever 
be  written.  If  anyone,  equipped  with  spirit  and  power,  should 
arrive  at  this  time  and  preach  the  old  Sveogothism,  I  am  certain 
that  many,  particularly  of  the  younger  generation,  would  take 
their  position  beneath  the  banner  of  power,  against  that  dullness 
which  has  been  so  indefensibly  preached  by  the  Academic  Journal 
(for  Litteraturen  och  Teatern)."  .  .  . 

"The  Lord  is  mighty!  can  be  exclaimed  with  justification  when 
one  sees  Iduna  and  learns  [the  name  of]  the  author."  .  .  . 

; '  The  Viking '  is  a  divine  production,  the  first  of  its  kind  in 
Swedish.  I  am  not  so  satisfied  with  the  translations;  Vegtams 
Kvitha,  the  only  one  I  had  the  opportunity  to  compare  with  the 
original,  is,  I  believe,  slavishly  faithful  (to  the  text)." 

"You  ought  to  be  all  the  more  certain  that  I  like  "The  Last 
Warrior"  and  "The  Last  Skald,"  since  these  strengthen  my  idea 
that  Christianity  has  removed  power  and  energy  from  Sweden."2 

1  Letter  to  Hammarskjold.     Frunck:  "  Bref,"  V,  p.  335. 

2  For  all  quotations  above,  see  ibid.,  pp.  336-37.     In  answer  to  this  last 
6 


70 

This  outburst  of  youthful  enthusiasm  needs  no  discussion;  it 
cannot  be  taken  very  seriously,  but  it  does  serve  as  a  striking 
illustration  of  a  mixture  of  radical  Gothism  and  Rousseauism. 
In  1811  Livijn  has  another  plan  for  a  Norse  drama.  He 
writes  to  Hammarskjold,  April  2: 

"  What  do  you  think  about  me  ?  I  intend  to  compete  with  Poly- 
histrio,1  and  also  produce  an  '  Odin.'  The  undertaking  will,  to  be 
sure,  'be  rather  difficult,  but  if  I  am  successful  it  will  procure  for 
me  a  double  honor  and  decide  the  victory  for  us/'2 

Hammarskjold  doubted  the  intrinsic  unity  of  the  subject3  and 
Livijn  writes  again,  April  22,  1811 : 

"  You  do  not  believe  that  I  can  possibly  obtain  unity  in  '  Odin ' ; 
I  have  almost  the  same  opinion,  but  even  if  I  am  to  drive  my 
heroes  together  from  Egypt,  as  Leopold  (has  done),  they  must 
come  together.  .  .  .  The  contrast  between  the  proud  and  arrogant 
but  civilized  Roman  and  the  proud  and  arrogant  but  uncivilized 
barbarian  will  be  the  fundamental  theme."4 

As  was  often  the  case,  Livijn's  creative  interest  in  Old  Norse 
literature  hardly  went  beyond  the  mere  plan.  It  is  a  little  diffi- 
cult to  decide  just  how  much  he  actually  accomplished  in  this 
line ;  some  of  his  work  was  destroyed,  what  he  did  not  destroy 
was  mostly  fragmentary,  and  very  little  of  what  survived  was 
ever  published.  We  have  seen  from  his  letters,  however,  that 
his  early  creative  interest  in  the  saga  always  suggested  some 
dramatic  scheme  to  his  mind.  It  is  quite  certain,  then,  that 
beyond  his  ingenious  attack  on  Gothic  extravaganzas  later, 

contention  of  Livijn,  Hammarskjold  writes:  "If  'The  Last  Warrior'  and 
*  The  Last  Skald '  have  strengthened  your  conviction  that  Christianity  has 
injured  our  nation,  then  these  poems  must  have  produced  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent effect  from  the  one  intended  by  the  author.  .  .  .  And  besides,  how 
much  Christianity  is  there  not  in  Icelandic  mythology?"  See  letter  to 
Livijn,  September  12,  1811.  Frunck :  "  Bref,"  V,  p.  353.  Hammarskjold 
agrees,  then,  with  Atterbom  that  the  spirit  of  Christianity  existed  in  its 
embryonic  state  in  Norse  mythology. 

1  The   Fosforists'   nickname   for   the   Academician   Gustaf   af   Leopold. 
See  Appendix.     He  had  written  a  drama  on  Odin  in  the  French  style.     See 
Introduction,  pp.  23-24. 

2  Frunck :  "  Bref,"  IV,  p.  268. 

3  Cf.  above,  p.  67,  note  3. 

4  Frunck :  "  Bref,"  IV,  pp.  283-84. 


71 

Livijn's  Norse  plans  revolved  around,  and  were  limited  to,  the 
drama  "Gyritha"  (1803),  the  opera  "Balder"  (1806), "Odin" 
(1811),  and  the  trilogy  "Visbur"  (1813).  And  we  must  no- 
tice in  passing  that  the  date  of  the  first  two  is,  in  either  case, 
several  years  before  the  Goths  appeared,  as  such.  Fortunately 
for  us,  the  dramatic  work  of  Livijn  has  lately  been  investigated 
by  Mortensen,1  who  has  published  the  rough  drafts  of  Livijn's 
Norse  dramas  that  still  exist  among  his  papers.  From  these 
scanty  remnants  we  can  now  obtain  some  idea  of  what  Livijn 
intended  to  do  in  this  field.  I  shall  limit  myself  here  to  a  very 
brief  comment;  for  the  details  I  refer  to  Mortensen's  mono- 
graph. 

Nothing  has  been  found  of  either  "  Balder's  Death "  or 
"  Odin."  In  all  probability  they  never  existed  beyond  the  mere 
titles.2  But  we  do  possess  two  small  fragments  of  "  Gyritha  " 
and  "  Visbur."  The  theme  of  the  former,  the  first  of  Livijn's 
dramatic  attempts,  is  based  on  the  saga  found  in  Saxo,  part  I, 
book  7.  Halfdan,  Prince  of  Scania,  has  fallen  in  love  with  the 
proud  and  amazon-like  princess  Gyritha,  the  last  of  her  race. 
He  must  win  her  by  fame  and  bravery  in  war  and  for  this  pur- 
pose sets  out  for  Russia,  where  he  fights  against  the  Swedish 
King  Alver.  A  report  is  circulated  that  Halfdan  is  dead,  and 
after  many  vicissitudes  a  Saxon,  Sivard,  is  successful  in  win- 
ning the  hand  of  Gyritha.  Halfdan  is  notified,  arrives  just  as 
the  wedding  is  to  be  celebrated,  kills  the  bridegroom  and  most 
of  the  guests,  and  obtains  Gyritha.  Livijn  takes  this  story,  adds 
in  the  French  style  a  confidante,  Afhilda,  and  a  malicious  rival 
and  she-devil,  Ulfhilda,  both  of  whom  are  taken  from  a  novel3 
by  the  Dane  Suhm,  which  is  based  on  the  same  saga,  and  makes 
a  plan  for  a  three-act  drama.  The  unity  of  action  is  strictly  ob- 
served, the  unity  of  time  is  indefinite,  and  that  of  place  ignored. 
The  fragment,  a  trifle  more  than  five  scenes  of  the  first  act,  is 
written  in  rather  commonplace  prose,  without  dignity  or  eleva- 

1  Mortensen :  Clas  Livijns  dramatiska  forfattarskap.     Stockholm,   1911. 

2  Cf.  ibid.,  p.  119.     Cf.  also,  p.  193.     Mortensen  suggests  here  the  possi- 
bility that  in  case  of  "  Odin,"  Livijn  intended  to  write  a  regular  drama  a 
la  Leopold  to  be  a  parody  of  the  same. 

3  "  Gyrithe  eller  Danmarks  Befrielse,  Prisen  For  Kierlighed,"  1774. 


72 

tion,  but  has  occasionally  a  certain  power  and  interest.  Ulf- 
hilda  is  by  far  the  strongest  character  in  the  fragment ;  she  is 
a  cunning  intriguer,  who,  in  strong,  masculine  language  with 
feminine  ingenuity,  and  under  the  pretense  of  patriotism,  plans 
the  abduction  of  Gyritha  by  Sivard  to  further  her  own  love- 
interests.  She  is  a  modern  heroine  as  Livijn  would  have  her. 
We  have  here  the  beginning  of  a  drama,  half  French,  half 
Romantic-historical.  We  can  only  regret  that  it  was  never 
completed,  for  it  would  have  served  as  an  excellent  transition- 
type.1 

In  1813  Livijn  entertained  a  gigantic  plan  to  write  an  opera 
"in  the  form  of  a  trilogy  on  Visbur.  Snorre  Sturleson's 
Ynglinga  Saga  (Chapters  16-18)  tells  the  tragic  tale  of  Vau- 
lande,  Visbur,  and  Domalde,  grandfather,  father  and  son,  re- 
spectively. The  old  fate-idea,  based  on  crime,  hovers  over 
the  whole  brief  narrative  by  Snorre,  though  the  main  interest 
undoubtedly  centers  about  Visbur.  Vaulande  has  forsaken  his 
wife  Drifva  and  is  finally  strangled  by  a  nightmare ;  Domalde 
was  in  time  of  famine  sacrificed  to  the  gods ;  and  upon  Visbur 
who,  after  desertion  and  remarriage,  refuses  to  give  up  his 
former  wife's  bridal  gift,  the  curse  of  his  race  had  been  placed. 
A  part  of  the  bridal  gift,  a  neck-ring,  was  to  be  the  death  of  the 
best  of  his  kin,  and  racial  murder  should  always  prevail  in  the 
family.  Using  this  saga  and  a  Chronicon  Finlandiae,  Livijn 
made  a  brief  outline  in  prose  of  "  Visbur."  It  was  to  have 
three  acts  and  was  to  be  full  of  conjurations  and  witchcraft. 
It  was  to  end  in  a  general  slaughter  and  suicide  and  Odin  him- 
self was  to  appear  in  the  last  act  as  a  ghost ;  which  gives  Mor- 
tensen  a  good  reason  for  believing  that  the  plan  of  "Visbur" 
was  modeled  after  Fouque's  trilogy  "  Der  Held  des  Nordens."2 
But  our  author  never  got  beyond  the  fragmentary  plan ;  the 
scheme  was  too  colossal  and,  as  Mortensen  adds,3  it  was  left 
for  Richard  Wagner  to  write  a  trilogy  on  a  primitive  Germanic 
theme. 

1  Mortensen :  Clas  Livijns  dramatiska  forfattarskap,  p.  75.     For  detailed 
account  of  whole  plan,  fragment,  and  Suhm's  influence,  see  pp.  62-75. 

2  "Sigurd  der  Schlangentodter,"  Berlin,  1808:  "  Sigurd  s  Rache  "  ;  "  As- 
lauga,"  Berlin,  1810.     Cf.  Mortensen,  as  above,  pp.  244-45. 

3  Mortensen  :  Op.  cit.,  p.  243. 


73 

However  ardent  Livijn's  love  for  the  saga  element  was, 
he  objected  most  strenuously  to  the  abuse  of  it.  When  the 
"old  Norse  power"  and  Norse  mythology  became  the  objects 
of  an  empty,  rhetorical  idolatry,  Livijn  decided  to  give  a  signal 
of  warning.  The  method  of  warning  was  similar  to  the  attack 
made  later  upon  Norse  myths  by  the  Academician  Stjernstolpe  j1 
the  Norse  divinities  of  both  sexes  pay  a  visit  to  Mt.  Olympus 
where  they  frighten  everybody  almost  to  death  and  put  the 
Olympians  to  flight.  But  Livijn's  ingenious  ridiculing  of  the 
Gotho-mania  was  done  in  a  friendly  spirit  and  with  the  serious 
intention  of  bettering  conditions,  as  is  shown  by  his  sober  re- 
flections on  the  Norse  cult  at  the  end  of  his  article.  The  warn- 
ing, in  the  prose-form  of  a  dream,  appeared  in  No.  3  of  the 
short  lived  Life  and  Death  (Lifvet  och  Doderi),  1816,  and  is 
really  a  thrust  at  both  mythologies.  He  finds  the  Olympians  a 
rather  triste  company.  "The  old  man  Jupiter  (Jofur)  was 
recognized  at  once  ;  he  had  seen  him  hoisted  up  and  down  on 
the  opera,  with  flashing  thunder-bolts  in  his  hands.  Minerva 
is  studying  economy  and  finance,  Apollo  stood  with  his  hands 
in  his  pocket  and  pondered  on  the  possibility  of  winning  a  prize 
on  the  2Oth  of  December,2  and  the  arrows  of  Cupid  seemed  so- 
dull  that  they  could  be  used  only  to  pluck  the  strings  of  the 
lyre,  etc.  The  whole  company  reminded  one  of  yawning 
guests  at  some  state-  feast."3  But  the  Scandinavians  arrive  with 
a  frightful  noise  and  start  a  grand  fight  with  the  Olympians.. 
Thor  howls  like  all  the  wolves  of  the  North  put  together,  and 
when  Brage  sings,  Apollo  puts  his  fingers  in  his  ears  and  flees. 
The  rest  follow.  The  new  gods  are  to  be  lords  of  all  Swedish 
poets  hereafter,  and  to  possess  the  sole  right  to  appear  in  opera, 
ode,  or  elegy. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  Livijn's  ideas  concerning  the  employ- 
ment of  Norse  myths  were  fundamentally  the  same  as  those  of 
Geijer  concerning  their  use  in  the  plastic  arts.4  He  implies 
that  we  must  have  sensuous  form  and  definiteness  in  some  way, 


iCf.  below,  Chap.  Ill,  pp. 

2  The  classical  Swedish  Academy  awarded  its  prizes  on  this  date. 

3  Mila  Hallman:  Clas  Livijn,  p.  87. 

4  See  "  Betraktelser  i  afseende  pa  de  nordiska  myternas  anvandande  i 
skon  konst,"  1817.     Cf.  below,  Chap.  Ill,  pp.  isoff. 


74 

and  we,  who  live  in  a  new  age  when  the  gods  in  question  are 
no  longer  worshipped,  may  employ  the  names  from  Norse 
myths  only  as  poetical  terms  to  give  our  ideas  a  certain  sen- 
suous definiteness.  Nowadays  the  use  of  such  terms,  however, 
is  often  nothing  more  than  a  mere  substitution  of  Norse  names 
for  Greek,  and  an  affected  pedantry  is  the  result.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  scene  of  action  is  localized  in  that  remote 
period  when  popular  faith  embraced  Odin  and  Thor,  and  the 
atmosphere  and  costume  are  generally  Norse,  the  names  of  the 
Old  Norse  gods  are  the  most  suitable.1  This  is,  in  brief,  the 
content  of  the  serious  part  of  Livijn's  attack.  It  agrees,  it 
seems  to  me,  with  Geijer's  ideas:  to  obviate  all  danger,  do  not 
separate  the  Norse  myths  from  their  own  age,  and  if  you  do, 
beware  of  excess. 

The  climax  of  Livijn's  ridicule  appeared  in  No.  19  of  the 
above-mentioned  Life  and  Death.  It  was  a  cruel  parody  on  a 
solemn  poem  by  Ling,  entitled  "  In  Memory  of  the  Countess 
Hedvig  Cronstedt"  (Minne  af  grefvinnan  H.  C),  into  which 
Ling  had  introduced  the  greater  part  of  Norse  mythology. 
Livijn  calls  his  poem  "In  Memory  of  the  Unwieldy  Norse 
Power"  (Minne  af  den  obakliga  nordiska  kraften),  writes  it 
in  the  same  meter  as  his  model,  provides  it  with  explanatory 
notes  as  Ling  had  done,  and  like  Ling  wants  his  poem  set  to 
music,  and  especially  the  explanatory  notes.  Ling's  elegy 
adapted  itself  unusually  well  to  irony  and  Livijn's  parody  is  a 
masterpiece  of  its  kind.  The  parody  itself  has  true  wit  and 
the  notes  are  excruciatingly  funny.  It  caused  bad  blood,  how- 
ever, and  the  author  felt  constrained  to  make  the  explanation 
which  appeared  in  the  last  number  of  Life  and  Death,  in  May, 
1816.  For  further  details  and  examples  in  parallel  columns 
of  both  model  and  parody  I  refer  to  Wirsen  and  Hallman,2 
both  of  whom  characterize  the  parody  as  "cruel."  Inciden- 
tally, the  character  of  the  parody  shows  that  Livijn  must  have 
been  pretty  well  acquainted  with  Norse  mythology  in  order  to 
write  it. 

1  Cf.  Wirsen :  Clas  Livijn,  pp.  38-39.     Contains  quotations. 
2Cf.  Wirsen:  Op.  cit.,  pp.  39-41.     Cf.  Mila  Hallman:  Clas  Livijn,  pp. 
88-91. 


75 

It  appears,  then,  that  Atterbom  was  the  only  Fosforist  ever 
to  finish  an  imaginative  work  based  directly  on  Norse  my- 
thology. Hammarskjold  objected  to  its  use  unless  it  was  re- 
modeled like  "  Skaldarmal  " ;  and  Livijn's  dramatic  work,  based 
on  individual  Norse  sagas,  was  fragmentary.  Yet  we  must 
not  underestimate  the  importance  of  the  zeal  with  which  the 
Forforists,  almost  to  a  man,  sought  to  encourage  the  study 
of  Old  Norse  literature.  This  is  the  irrefutable  testimony  of 
letters  written  by  the  various  members  of  the  new  movement. 
The  correspondence  of  the  minor  members  of  the  group  brings 
out  the  same  widespread  sympathy  and  enthusiasm  as  that  of 
the  more  prominent  members. 

C.  A.  Agardh  (1785-1859),  adjunct  professor  of  botany 
and  economics  at  Lund  University  and  a  warm  associate  of 
the  New  School,  vents  his  feelings  to  Hammarskjold,  Novem- 
ber 2,  1810.  He  has  read  three  numbers  of  Fosforos  and 
objects  to  the  superabundance  of  Hellenism  in  them.  But  he 
discovers  one  strophe  in  the  Prolog  which  is  particularly  beau- 
tiful. He  writes:  "How  beautiful,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
Atterbom  when  he  uses  Gothic  images,  when  he  speaks  of 
Thor ;  it  is  easier  for  us  to  believe  that  Thor  still  illumines  his 
sons  than  that  Phoebus  should  do  so !  "*•  That  Agardh  took 
an  interest  in  Ling's  work  is  evidenced  in  the  same  letter,  and 
later  he  takes  issue  with  Hammarskjold  with  respect  to  the 
employment  of  Norse  myths  in  poetry.  Agardh  believes  that 
Hammarskj old's  objections  to  their  use  may  all  be  refuted, 
though  it  was  not  his  (Agardh's)  business  to  refute  them.  He 
adds:  "Ling  and  Tegner  are  agreed  on  the  excellence  of  the 
Gothic  myth."2  That  Agardh  kept  in  touch  with  Danish  litera- 
ture of  the  Old  Norse  style  is  seen  in  a  letter  to  Hammar- 
skjold of  February  2,  1811.  He  is  to  send  his  friend  some  of 
Oehlenschlager's  works  as  well  as  "Norse  Mythology"  by 
Grundtvig.  But  it  is  curious  to  note  that  Agardh  also  objects 
to  an  exaggeration  of  the  new  tendency.  He  writes :  "  He 

iFrunck:  "  Bref,"  III,  p.  164.  Cf.  Prolog  to  Fosforos.  Also  note  4, 
page  32  of  this  chapter. 

2Frunck:  "Bref,"  III,  p.  175.  Letter  to  Hammarskjold  of  December 
6,  1810. 


76 

(Oehlenschlager)  has  published  a  new  volume  of  his  poetry, 
which  does  not  seem  to  me  to  possess  the  value  of  the  others. 
He  has  fallen  too  much  into  the  old  tone  of  the  North.  He 
has  even  imitated  its  faults."1 

Those  members  of  the  new  movement  who  were  neither 
Goths  nor  Fosforists,  technically,  but  who  made  use  of  the 
sagas  and  Norse  mythology  for  the  purpose  of  poking  fun  at 
the  extravagances  of  the  New  School  (see  Chap.  Ill)  should 
be  mentioned  here.  The  most  important  of  these  were  Vitalis 
(Erik  Sjoberg)  and  Carl  Fredrik  Dahlgren.  The  character 
of  their  humorous  products  themselves  shows  that  they  knew 
something  about  Norse  antiquity,  and  a  study  of  their  lives  and 
works  reveals  a  Gothic  activity  of  a  positive  character  as  well. 
But  this  activity  seems,  for  the  most  part,  to  be  of  a  purely 
general  type.  Especially  is  this  the  case  of  Vitalis.  His  Gothic 
poems,  if  they  may  be  called  such,  are  patriotic  and  national, 
but  are  not  based  on  any  definite  saga-sources.  They  deal  with 
king  and  fatherland,  with  Swedish  iron  and  mountains,  and 
with  occasional  reflections  on  the  primitive  ages.  "The  Son 
of  Nature"  (Natursonen),  as  may  be  guessed  from  the  title, 
is  Gothic  only  in  so  far  as  it  is  Rousseauic.2 

Dahlgren  wrote  several  poems  in  a  patriotic  spirit,  but  his 
chief  importance  for  Gothism  was  as  an  organizer.  It  was  he 
who  really  founded  the  "Antiquarian  Society"  (Sallskapet 
for  forntida  minnen)  in  Linkoping  in  1823,  and  he  did  much 
active  work  subsequently.  He  made  speeches  and  gave  books 
to  this  body,  whose  object  was  to  "quicken  the  feeling  of  na- 
tional patriotism,  pure  morality,  and  hearty  friendship."3  Of 
more  specific  value  for  Gothism  was  Dahlgren's  connection 
with  the  Manhems-Forbund.  His  biographer,  Arwidson,  writes 
as  follows :  "  In  conjunction  with  C.  J.  L.  Almquist,  Dahlgren 
founded  in  1815  the  so-called  Manhems-Forbund.  Its  purpose 
was  to  arouse  in  growing  youth  an  interest  in  our  antiquities  and 
love  for  our  historical  monuments ;  in  a  word,  to  make  the  edu- 

1  "  Frunck :  "  Bref,"  IV,  pp.  227-28. 

2  Cf.   Ostergren :   Vitalis,  p.   50.     Ostergren  believes  "  Natursonen "  to 
be  an  imitation  in  the  Gothic  genre. 

s  See  Arwidson :  Introduction  to  Vol.  I  of  Dahlgren's  Samlade  arbeten, 
Stockholm,  1847,  p.  xv. 


77 

cation  of  the  young  as  Swedish  as  possible,  with  the  high  ex- 
amples of  the  forefathers  as  models  for  a  new,  powerful,  and 
patriotic  generation.  Consequently,  it  was  for  the  young  what 
the  Gothic  society  was  for  the  old.  Others  may  judge  the  pos- 
sibility of  attaining  the  desired  end  in  this  way ;  but,  in  any  case, 
the  effort  was  noble  and  magnanimous.  At  the  meetings  the 
young  men  read  selections  from  our  old  sagas  to  one  another, 
and  lectures  were  held  on  the  Norse  myths  and  on  praiseworthy 
deeds  from  our  historical  chronicles.1  On  special  occasions 
Dahlgren  himself  delighted  the  members  of  the  Forbund  with 
speeches,  many  of  them  sparkling  with  wit  and  the  love  of 
life." 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  xiii-xiv. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  NON-ROMANTIC  INTEREST  IN  THE  NORSE  SAGA 

"  Karleken  till  skaldekonst  i  allmanhet,  och  faderneslands-kansla 
isynnerhet,  hafva  kommit  mig  att  skrifva  i  meter,  och  att  begagna 
den  hos  oss  for  litet  kanda  och  varderade,  hogst  interessanta 
nordiska  mythologien." 

Charlotta  d' Albedyhll :  Slutanmarkning  to  "  Gefion." 

There  was  no  enthusiasm  among  the  Academicians  for  Old 
Norse  themes  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  an  injustice 
to  accuse  them  of  a  constant  and  furious  hostility.  The  old 
myths  had  already  been  treated  in  the  French  style  by  some 
Gustavians,  notably  by  the  king  himself,  Gustavus  III.,  and  by 
Leopold;  so  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  national  movement 
Norse  mythology  was  by  no  means  unknown,  even  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Old  School.  And  so,  in  1810,  when  the  field  of 
Norse  myths  was  being  explored  in  Denmark,  the  Academic 
Journal  for  Litteraturen  och  Theatern  not  only  tolerated  such 
exploration  but  advocated  a  similar  movement  in  Sweden. 
No.  193,  for  August  20,  1810,  contains  an  announcement  of 
Nyerup's  Edda  and  gives  the  story  of  Suttung's  mead.  The 
Danes,  the  reviewer  thinks,  should  be  given  credit  for  their 
interest  in  Old  Norse  history  and  myth,  and  Norse  mythology 
ought  not  to  be  as  unknown  to  the  Swedes  as  it  is,  since  it  has 
already  been  used  by  "several  German  and  Danish  poets." 
The  excuse  seems  to  be  that  one  does  not  like  to  learn  Ice- 
landic. Again,  the  recension  of  the  first  number  of  Iduna  in 
the  same  Journal  (numbers  195-98,  1811)  contains  an  ex- 
pressive regret :  "  The  love  for  our  antiquities  and  our  history 
has  cooled  considerably  among  us  (in  Sweden)  if  it  has  not 
entirely  died  out."  Later  on,  to  be  sure,  when  militant  Gothism 
was  thought  to  be  alarming,  the  Academic  attitude  changed ;  but 
in  the  beginning  of  the  decade  1810-1820  there  was  an  appre- 
ciable sympathy  for  national  material  among  the  conservatives. 

78 


79 

The  Swedish  Academy  itself  was  not  opposed  to  literary 
creations  with  Old  Norse  content  provided  they  measured  up 
to  the  traditional  standards  of  form  and  style.  In  1812  the 
Academy  awarded  its  highest  prize  to  Per  Adolf  Granberg 
(1770-1841)  for  a  so-called  "lyrical  tragedy  in  three  acts" 
on  an  Old  Norse  subject,  entitled  "Jorund."  And,  in  his 
presentation  speech  to  the  prize-winner,  the  director  of  the 
Academy  displays  an  idealistic  view  of  the  viking  and  sees  great 
possibilities  in  the  theme  at  hand. 

"It  was  from  the  skald  that  the  warrior  of  antiquity  expected 
his  most  permanent  reward;  with  his  eye  fixed  upon  the  harp  of 
the  bard,1  the  Gothic  champion  raised  his  sword,  and,  if  a  glorious 
death  snatched  it  from  his  armed  hand,  he  knew  that  the  memory 
of  the  exploit  would  live  through  the  ages  in  the  eulogy  of  song. 
You  [Granberg]  have,  my  lord,  called  forth  a  theme  from  the  old 
chronicles  of  Sweden  which  has  the  possibility  of  exciting  high 
impulses  and  public  sacrifices/'2 

This  complimentary  and  highly  commendable  sentiment  would 
have  applied  admirably  to  other  themes  from  the  sagas,  and 
was  prophetic  of  what  actually  took  place  later,  when  Norse 
themes  were  treated  by  other  more  Romantic  authors ;  but  in 
the  specific  case  of  "Jorund"  the  judgment  of  the  Academy 
was  much  too  favorable.  The  work  evidently  fulfilled  certain 
formal  requirements  of  the  Academy,  it  possessed  some  really 
good  verse,  and  exhibited  an  occasional  glimpse  of  genius,  and 
the  author  had  been  publicly  honored  by  the  Academy  before.3 
Moreover,  the  theme  of  "Jorund"  was  new  to  contemporary 
Academicians  and  was  patriotic  in  its  essence;  and  so  as  a  bit 
of  original  poetry,  it  captured  the  highest  reward. 

"Jorund"  is  an  interesting  concoction  and  Atterbom  calls  it 
rightly  "  a  peculiarly  constituted  arabesk."4  It  is  not  a  tragedy 

1  Neither  the  director  nor  Granberg  himself  made  any  distinction  be- 
tween "  skald  "  and  "bard." 

2  A    free   translation.     See    Svenska   Akademiens    handlingar   ifran   ar 
1796.     Sjette  delen.     Stockholm,  1817,  p.  311. 

3  According  to  Nordisk  Conversationslexikon,  Granberg  received  no  less 
than  five  prizes  from  the  Academy.     He  was  a  very  productive  writer  in 
several  fields.     He  wrote  historical  works  and  his  dramas  "  Svante  Sture  " 
and  "  Marta  Lejonhufvud  "  were  played  forty-two  times  between  1812-33. 

^Literara  karakteristiker   (Vol.  7  of  Samlade  skrifter),  Orebro,   1870, 
p.  105. 


80 

in  the  modern  sense  at  all  but  a  lyrical  melodrama,  interspersed 
with  reports  of  deaths  and  the  flowing  of  blood  somewhere  off 
the  stage.  It  is  a  bardiet  a  la  Klopstock,  steeped  in  artificial 
sentimentality  with  little  or  no  local  color  or  action.  The  main 
dialog  is  written  in  good  blank  verse,  but,  unfortunately,  there 
is  very  little  of  it  and  to  his  prefaced  outline  of  the  argument 
the  author  adds  apologetically,  as  it  were,  that  perhaps  this 
meter  is  altogether  too  new.  As  a  result,  we  have  a  great 
variety  of  meter,  distributed  in  the  form  of  rimed  duos,  trios, 
and  choruses  of  either  bards,  maidens,  or  fighters,  and  even  an 
invisible  choir  is  heard.  The  whole  is  a  combination  of  Sturle- 
son,  Shakespeare,  and  Granberg.  Sturleson  provides  the  name 
and  certain  historical  characterizations,  "  Macbeth  "  a  part  of 
the  plan  and  the  idea  of  an  oracle,  and  Granberg,  after  distort- 
ing the  original  saga  almost  beyond  recognition,  motivates  the 
"tragedy"  by  fate.  The  French  confidante  is  not  wanting 
and  we  may  say  that  the  unities  are  observed.  The  scene  is 
laid  in,  or  in  the  vicinity  of,  Uppsala,  the  principal  characters 
are  few  and  the  plot  is  simple.  Granberg  makes  Hake,  who 
is  said  to  have  ruled  three  years,  reign  but  one  day  over  Swe- 
den,— for  no  other  reason,  apparently,  than  to  accommodate 
the  action  to  the  unity  of  time.  From  the  dramatic  viewpoint 
the  stage  directions  are  the  most  meritorious  part  of  the  whole 
bardiet,  and  at  times  suggest  a  setting  of  real  viking  beauty 
and  picturesqueness.  Granberg  is  not  blind  to  the  contem- 
porary ignorance  of  Norse  mythology  and  saga  and  provides 
brief  explanatory  foot-notes  to  his  tragedy. 

The  Ynglinga  Saga  by  Snorre  Sturleson  (Chapters  25-28) 
contains  the  historical  background  of  "  Jorund."  Hugleik  was 
a  rich  and  stingy  king  who  reigned  over  Sweden  (Svithiod) 
quietly  instead  of  going  out  on  viking  expeditions.  He  was 
always  surrounded  by  harp-players,  fiddlers,  and  magicians. 
Hake,  a  mighty  sea-king,  with  twelve  champions,  including 
Starkad  the  Old,  set  out  for  Sweden,  killed  the  inactive  Hug- 
leik and  his  two  sons,  and  became  ruler  of  the  country  for  a 
period  of  three  years.  In  the  meantime  Jorund  and  Eric,  sons 
of  Yngve,  had  grown  up  and  won  renown  and  Hake  had  sent 
his  own  warriors  away.  Jorund  and  Eric  made  use  of  their 


81 

opportunity ;  they  came  to  Sweden,  were  welcomed  by  the  peo- 
ple, and  set  out  for  Uppsala  to  recapture  the  throne  for  the 
Yngve  race.  In  the  battle  that  follows  Eric  is  slain  and  Jorund 
is  at  first  forced  to  flee,  but  Hake  has  been  mortally  wounded 
in  the  fray;  he  is  laid  "almost  dead,  or  dead,"  upon  his  ship, 
the  burning  boat  is  sent  out  to  sea,  and  Jorund  returns  to  be- 
come king  of  Sweden.  Chapter  28  of  the  saga,  which  Gran- 
berg  disregards  entirely,  tells  us  further  that  Jorund  was  finally 
hanged  by  King  Gylog  while  on  a  plundering  expedition  to 
Denmark. 

Granberg  states  in  his  preface  that  he  followed  the  opinions 
of  those  also  who  applied  Saxo's  story  to  Sweden.  But  he 
cannot  have  taken  very  much  from  the  Danish  historian. 
There  is  no  Jorund  mentioned  in  Saxo  Grammaticus.  The 
two  champions,  Geigad  and  Svipdag,  are  mentioned,  however, 
both  in  Saxo  and  in  Sturleson  (Ynglinga  Saga,  Chap.  25), 
and  Starkad  the  Old,  who  is  mentioned  in  Sturleson  in  the 
same  chapter  as  being  the  greatest  fighter  at  King  Hake's  court, 
appears  in  Saxo,  Book  6,  as  a  very  redoubtable  Danish  war- 
rior. Granberg  makes  Starkad  a  native  of  Sweden  who  had 
left  the  Swedish  court  because  of  dissatisfaction. 

There  were,  in  fact,  many  skalds  and  singing  vikings,  but 
the  typical  Northern  king  or  pirate  was  hardly  a  "lyrical" 
character;  he  was  a  sturdy,  unflinching  man  of  action.  And 
so,  when  Jorund  is  made  the  hero  of  a  lyrical  tragedy  we  may 
expect  at  once  a  radical  modification  of  historical  facts.  This 
is  precisely  what  takes  place.  The  Jorund  of  Sturleson  is  not 
a  tragic  hero  at  all,  unless  we  consider  his  inherent  craving  for 
murder  and  plunder  tragic.  But  this  characteristic  was  com- 
mon to  any  wide-range  viking.  Jorund  is  simply  an  ordinary 
sea-rover  and  king,  who  finally  had  the  sad,  though  not  "tragic," 
misfortune  of  being  caught  in  his  misdeeds.  From  a  viking's 
viewpoint  Jorund  never  knew  any  tragic  guilt  and  the  danger 
in  which  he  lived  was,  undoubtedly,  just  what  he  wanted.  The 
production  as  a  whole  is  very  much  weakened  by  the  infusion 
of  an  artificially  created  sentiment  into  the  characters.  They 
are  not  living  individuals  and  are  given  no  opportunity  for  dra- 
matic development.  There  is  too  much  singing  and  not  enough 


82 

dialog,  though  what  there  is  is  good.  Granberg  makes  Hug- 
leik,  Hake,  and  Jorund  contemporaries  in  war;  Starkad  the 
Old  has  become  both  "  bard "  and  foster-father  of  Jorund ; 
Hugleik,  instead  of  being  slain,  makes  peace  with  Hake  and  has 
his  eyes  put  out;  Hugleik's  daughter  Hilda  and  her  friend 
Yrsa,  neither  of  whom  is  mentioned  by  Sturleson  in  this  con- 
nection,1 furnish  material  for  the  conventional  love-scenes ;  and 
Starkad,  as  Granberg's  instrument  of  fate,  directs  the  show. 

An  appropriate  name  for  the  dramatic  poem,  according  to 
Granberg's  plan,  would  be  "The  Unavoidable  Triumph  of 
Jorund."  It  has  now  become  a  love  story  with  love  of  woman 
and  love  of  fatherland,  where  the  hero  cannot  help  but  capture 
both.  In  the  first  act,  Jorund,  disguised  as  Halvar,  is  living  an 
inactive  life  at  Hugleik's  court,  enjoying  the  love  of  the  weak- 
ling's daughter.  But  Jorund,  as  the  son  of  Yngve,  is  destined 
to  rule  over  Sweden,  and  so  Starkad,  in  the  hero's  inactivity, 
employs  the  sea-king  Hake  to  dethrone  Hugleik  and  arouse  the 
hero  to  action.  According  to  the  oracle,  the  ruling  king,  as  in 
"  Macbeth,"  must  fall  when  the  woods  of  Roslagen  approach 
Uppsala.  Messengers  arrive  from  Hake;  he  demands  Hilda 
and  half  of  the  kingdom  and,  upon  receipt  of  the  message  that 
the  oracle  is  being  fulfilled,  Hugleik  loses  courage  and  shuts 
himself  up  in  his  castle.  Jorund  now  rushes  forth  and  wishes 
to  lead  the  warriors  against  the  enemy. 

From  this  point  on  the  whole  panorama  could  have  been 
brought  to  a  rapid  close.  Had  Jorund  been  allowed  to  drive 
away  the  intruders  he  would  have  been  the  logical  candidate 
for  the  throne,  Hilda  would  have  shared  it  with  him,  and  the 
audience  would  have  been  ready  at  once  for  the  triumphal  post- 
lude.  But  no !  Starkad  has  promised  Hake  to  reign  one  day, 
— a  pleasure  which  is  well  deserved,  to  be  sure, — and  so,  for 
the  time  being,  he  prevents  the  execution  of  the  very  thing  he 
set  out  to  accomplish  and  the  panorama  is  extended  for  two 
acts  more. 

1  Sturleson  does  give  in  Chapters  32-33  of  the  Ynglinga  Saga  the  story 
of  a  foreign  slave  Yrsa  who  became  queen  in  Sweden,  but  she  was  not  the 
contemporary  of  Jorund.  Sturleson  does  not  mention  any  women  at  all 
in  connection  with  the  story  of  Jorund,  but  we  are  told  (Chap.  29)  that 
Jorund  had  a  son  Ane  who  became  king  after  his  father. 


83 

In  the  second  act  Jorund  and  his  sweetheart  are  led  around 
alternately  by  Starkad,  Hilda  being  disguised  as  a  soldier. 
Hilda  must  not  reveal  her  identity  to  anyone  until  permitted 
to  do  so  by  Starkad.  When  she  refuses  to  join  the  victorious 
Hake  he  is  told  that  she  has  fallen  in  battle,  whereupon  Hake 
takes  Yrsa  and  commands  her  to  assume  the  name  of  Hilda, 
so  that  the  people  may  believe  that  he  is  united  in  marriage  to 
the  Ynglinga  race.  Invisible  beings  are  conjured  up  to  arouse 
Jorund's  jealousy  by  representing  a  union  of  Hake  and  Hilda. 
The  shades  of  his  ancestors  pass  in  review  and  remind  him  of 
his  duty  to  his  fatherland.  Deeply  moved  and  in  despair  Jo- 
rund makes  the  resolution  to  suffocate  his  love  and  disperse 
the  foe. 

The  last  act  deals  further  with  Jorund's  victory  over  Hake, 
sung  by  the  bards.  As  a  test  of  his  sense  of  honor,  the  hero 
is  given,  and  rather  cleverly,  the  choice  between  the  throne  and 
Hilda.  Of  course,  as  in  a  French  tragedy,  honor  and  patriot- 
ism must  come  first,1  but  Jorund  stands  the  trial  and  Hilda 
proves  herself  equal  to  the  severe  and  dramatic  test  of  love. 
Then  honor  and  love  are  reconciled,  her  disguise  is  removed, 
Hake  has  retreated  and  as  King  of  the  North  burns  himself 
on  a  pyre  of  trophies  upon  his  ship,  and  Jorund  is  now  ready 
to  receive  the  homage  of  the  Swedish  people. 

Much  could  have  been  made  of  that  dramatic  meeting  between 
Jorund  and  Hilda,  III,  4,  where  the  latter  in  soldier's  garb  is 
ready  to  die  at  the  hand  of  her  lover  in  order  to  be  mourned  by 
him,  but  all  we  have  now  is  a  brief  and  rather  insipid  quartett- 
song  which,  naturally,  cannot  begin  to  do  justice  to  the  situa- 
tion. There  are  other  scenes  also  with  excellent  dramatic  pos- 
sibilities, as,  for  instance,  in  II,  4,  between  Yrsa,  Hake,  and 
Starkad.  But  here,  too,  the  dialog  is  too  concentrated,  events 
are  told  too  abruptly,  important  decisions  made  too  suddenly  and 
without  sufficient  exposition  of  the  inner  struggles  of  the  char- 
acters. The  much  desired  dramatic  concentration  and  viking 

i  Cf .  I,  4,  Hilda  to  Jorund : 

Nej,  Jorund,  allt  for  aran  vaga 
om  dina  pligter  fordra  det ; 
Din  alskarinnas  bild  forgat, 
och  for  ditt  rykte  glom  din  laga. 


84 

directness  are  carried  to  the  extreme,  and  before  we  realize  what 
is  happening  the  action  is  over  and  someone  begins  to  sing.  Had 
Granberg  called  his  poem  a  "bardiet,"  any  adverse  criticism 
of  this  sort  would  have  been  unwarranted,  but  as  a  "  tragedy," 
without  even  a  well  defined  tragic  danger,  it  is,  I  think, 
vulnerable. 

That  the  Fosforists  had  nothing  good  to  say  about  Granberg's 
work,1  was  due,  in  part,  to  the  fact  that  he  leaned  toward  the 
Old  School.  Atterbom  calls  "  Jorund  "  "  a  formless  mass,"  and 
advises  the  author  not  to  write  another  verse.2  It  is  called  a 
"tragedy,"  says  Atterbom,  because  someone  dies  and  called 
"  lyrical "  because  a  part  is  sung.3  The  manliness  of  the  orig- 
inal is  gone,  there  is  monotony  of  rime,4  and  Atterbom  asks 
whether  the  original  fate  of  the  hero  would  not  seem  more  prob- 
able now  after  reading  Granberg's  description  of  him.  But  the 
rationalists  did  not  have  the  same  opinion — the  Academy 
certainly  did  not — and  as  late  as  1823  Martina  v.  Schwerin 
could  speak  of  that  "glimpse  of  talent,"  which  was  found  in 
"  Jorund."5 

But  something  good  may  be  said  even  of  "Jorund."  It  has 
no  well-developed  local  color,  as  we  have  seen,  and  the  sprink- 
ling of  Norse  mythology  is  little  more  than  mere  names,  but, 
nevertheless,  there  is  a  tendency  to  depict  viking  scenes  and 
characteristics.  I  have  already  made  the  observation  that  the 
Old  Norse  directness  of  speech  is  too  well  illustrated;  fight, 
fire,  fate,  feast  and  song  compose  the  fabric  of  the  whole  bar- 
diet.  The  ancestors'  fondness  for  riddles  is  illustrated  in  the 
first  scene  and  the  participation  of  women  in  battle  and  their 
utter  disdain  for  danger  and  death  are  brought  out  in  the  first 

1  Cf.  above,  Chap.  I,  pp.  44  and  63,  concerning  views  of  Hammarskjold 
and  Atterbom. 

2  Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning  for  1814  (Nos.  20-21),  columns  326-27. 

3  Ibid.,  column  315,  and  note. 

4  Atterbom  believes  that  "  dygder  "  and  "  bygder  "  must  rime  "  certainly 
a  million  times  "  in   Granberg's  poetry. 

5  See  letter  to  Tegner  of  December  7,    1823.     Esaias  Tegner's  papper, 
p.  194.     The  occasion  for  the  remark  was  the  appearance  of  "The  Death 
of   Karl    Knutsson "    (Karl    Knutssons   dod),    a   tragedy   in   three   acts   by 
Granberg    which    did    not    have    "that    glimpse    of    talent"    displayed    in 
"  Jorund." 


85 

scene  of  Act  II.1  Of  course  we  feel  that  there  is  no  real  danger 
that  Granberg's  women  would  either  kill  anybody  else,  or  die 
themselves,  but  the  traditional  characteristic  is  at  least  indi- 
cated. To  have  one's  body  burned,  as  Hake  does  on  his  ship, 
was  a  common  viking  phenomenon,  and  the  scene  in  I,  5,  repre- 
sents a  council-place  in  the  open  air  with  its  primitive  judge's 
seat. 

We  find  many  phrases  in  "  Jorund  "  which,  though  unnatural, 
are  meant  to  be  strong  and  to  express  a  high  degree  of  emo- 
tion; and  the  language  is,  of  course,  always  polished  and  cor- 
rect. Some  lines,  if  taken  by  themselves,  are  really  powerful 
and  contain  proverbial  wisdom.  The  chief  in  I,  6,  says : 

"Den  starke  fordrar;  blott  den  svage  hoppas."2 

The  following  patriotic  and  idealistic  quotation  has  both  good 
content  and  form.  Starkad  as  bard  is  singing  to  Hugleik: 

"  Nar  fordom  en  Konung  blef  hyllad  i  Norden 
han  svor  att  bli  vardig  det  valde  han  fatt, 
och . . .  trogen  sitt  lofte . . .  vid  gransen  af  jorden 
han  satte  en  grans  for  sin  ryktbarhet  blott. 

Ej  mjuk  var  hans  badd  och  ej  kraslig  var  fodan, 
ej  flockar  af  gycklare  fyllde  hans  gard. 
Hans  noje  var  fejden,  och  . . .  vunnen  af  modan  . . . 
hans  hvila  de  sarade  kamparnes  vard."3 

Granberg's  "Jorund"  is  primarily  non-Romantic.  But, 
aside  from  the  subject  matter  itself,  there  are  other  traces — 
possibly  made  unconsciously — of  the  new  contemporary  tend- 
encies. Hilda  (I,  4)  is  tormented  by  "a  dreadful  presenti- 

1  Cf.  An  aga  vi  de  spjut,  som  vara  modrar  burit, 

bevisom  dessa  man,  som  namn  af  kampar  fatt, 
att  vara  faders  dygd,  hvars  dyrkan  de  besvurit, 
i  arf  till  deras  dottrar  gatt. 

2  The  strong  man  demands ;  only  the  weakling  hopes. 

3  Formerly,  when  homage  was  paid  to  a  king  in  the  North,  he  vowed 
to  be  worthy  of  the  power  he  had  received,  and,  loyal  to  his  vow,  set  the 
limits  of  the  world  only  as  the  limits  for  his  fame.     His  bed  was  not  soft, 
his  food  was  not  dainty,  and  flocks  of  jugglers  did  not  fill  his  court.     His 
joy  was  fighting  and,  won  by  toil,  his  rest  was  to  care  for  wounded  warriors. 

7 


86 

ment"  (en  gruflig  aning),  as  so  many  of  the  Romanticists  them- 
selves were.  The  scene  in  II,  6,  is  a  typical  Romantic  scene. 
We  have  "  a  wild  region  between  high  mountains "  and  the 
whole  illumined  by  the  omnipresent  moon.  Hilda,  as  a  warrior, 
is  wandering  about  alone,  aimlessly,  as  it  were,  directed  by  an 
unseen  power,  and  in  the  greatest  emotion : 

"Hvart  irra  mina  fjat?    Till  dessa  vilda  fjall 

af  hvilken  okand  makt  de  foras ! 
Allt  ar  sa  odsligt  tyst !  blott  vilddjurs  laten  horas, 
besvarade  af  klippans  hall."1 

Then,  too,  the  conjurations,  the  cloudiness,  the  thunder,  the 
flames,  the  invisible  choir,  the  night,  and  the  procession  upon 
passing  clouds  of  ghosts  of  ancestral  kings  (in  scenes  7  and  8 
of  Act  II),  produce  the  effect  of  a  Romantic  atmosphere. 
Even  Hake  in  III,  I,  is  tormented  by  "a  secret  anxiety"  (en 
hemlig  oro) .  He  fears  nothing,  but,  like  a  Romantic  dreamer, 
he  does  not  know  what  the  trouble  is  and  cannot  enjoy  life. 
His  royal  power  is  great  but  even  the  gods  cannot  satisfy  his 
thirsting  soul.  He  longs  for  an  inexpressible  something  which 
is  far  away,  he  knows  not  where : 

"Jag  vunnit  hvad  mitt  hjerta  efterstrafvat; 
men  ar  jag  nojd?    Ack  nej,  min  van! 
Den  sallhets  drom,  som  for  min  tanke  svafvat, 
for  mig  ar  lika  fjarran  an."2 

"Jorund"  should  be  remembered  for  its  historical  impor- 
tance, for  three  reasons :  It  was  based  on  a  saga,  it  was  written 
by  a  rationalist,  and  appeared  at  the  beginning  of  the  Romantic 
period,  when  the  Fosforists  were  conducting  their  attack  upon 
the  Academy  and  all  its  followers. 

We  now  come  to  another  poetic  production  which  should  be 
remembered  for  similar  reasons.  When  Granberg  was  receiv- 
ing official  and  ostentatious  recognition  for  his  work,  the  treat- 

1  Whither   do   my   foot-steps  go  ?     By  what  unseen   power  directed   to 
these  wild  mountains  ?     Everything  is  so  desolately  quiet !     Only  the  cry 
of  wild  beasts  re-echoing  from  the  cliff. 

2  I  have  won  what  my  heart  strove  for ;  but  am  I  satisfied  ?     Oh,  no, 
my  friend  !     That  dream  of  bliss  which  has  hovered  before  my  soul  is  still 
just  as  far  away. 


87 

ment  of  another  theme  from  Norse  saga  literature  was  just 
being  completed.  It  was  an  epic  poem  in  hexameters,  based  on 
Sturleson's  mythico-historical  Gefion,  by  the  aristocratic  but 
unassuming  Eleonora  Charlotta  d'Albedyhll,  nee  Wrangel 
(1770-1835).  She  was  a  rather  independent  poetess  and 
neutral-minded,  as  far  as  close  affiliation  with  any  definite 
school  was  concerned.  She  inclined  more,  however,  toward 
conservative  views  and  kept  up  a  lively  correspondence  with 
the  Academician  editor  Wallmark.  In  the  concluding  note 
to  her  poem  she  gives  her  motive  for  writing  and  publishing 
her  epic  : 

"This  little  attempt,  with  claim  to  nothing  except  the  forgive- 
ness of  the  reader,  was  written  between  1810  and  1812  and  was 
intended  merely  as  a  pastime  for  a  few  friends  and  for  my  own 
special  pleasure.  My  opinion  has  been  that  to  the  epic  belonged, 
essentially,  that  meter  (i.  e.  the  classical  hexameter)  which  I  have 
chosen;  but  that  may  possibly  be  a  mistake  which  I  hope  will  be 
kindly  pardoned.  Finally,  it  is  as  a  result  of  my  friends'  encourage- 
ment, and  at  their  request,  that  I  have  had  this  insignificant  work 
printed.  Love  for  poetry  in  general,  and  patriotism  in  particular, 
has  induced  me  to  write  in  meter,  and  to  employ  that  interesting 
Norse  mythology  which  is  too  little  known  and  valued  by  us." 

"  Gefion,  a  Poem  in  Four  Cantos,"  appeared  finally  in  1814, 
and  was  dedicated  in  glowing  terms  to  the  elected  crown  prince 
of  Sweden.  The  brief  dedication  contains  at  once  some  im- 
portant thoughts  which  later  are  developed  in  the  epic  itself 
and  shows  unbounded  enthusiasm  for  the  foreign-born  prince. 
He  is  the  peace-maker  who  will  save  the  Northern  iron  from 
an  everlasting  blood-bath,  he  is  the  patron  of  agriculture,  a 
"great  man,  born  and  bred  in  the  luxuriant  territory  of  the 
South."  Then  the  poetess,  with  an  assumed  air  of  modesty 
and  an  implied  enthusiasm  for  the  South,  pronounces  her 
Northern  poem  "  as  destitute  of  flowers  as  the  territory  which 
produced  the  authoress." 

"  Gefion  "  is  based  on  a  part  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  the 
Ynglinga  Saga.  When  the  emigrating  historical  Odin  had  estab- 
lished himself,  temporarily,  in  Germany,  he  dispatched  the  god- 
dess of  chastity,  Gefion,  northward  to  King  Gylfe  of  Sweden, 


or   . 
UN1VF  RS'T, 


88 

"who  presented  her  with  a  piece  of  tillable  land.  She  then  went 
to  Jotunheim  (the  home  of  the  giants)  and  had  four  sons  by  a 
giant;  these  she  gave  the  form  of  oxen,  hitched  them  to  a  plow, 
and  dragged  the  land  out  into  the  sea  and  westwards  towards 
Odinso  (Odin's  isle,  Fyen,)  to  a  place  which  is  now  called  See- 
land;  there  she  lived  afterwards.  She  married  Skjold,  the  son  of 
Odin;  they  lived  in  Lider  (Leire).  Where  the  plowed  land  lay, 
there  is  left  water  or  sea  which  is  called  Lagen  (Icl.  logr,  the  sea, 
now  called  Lake  Malar).  The  fjords  in  the  Lagen  correspond  to 
the  capes  on  Seeland." 

In  the  epic  this  mythical-historical  tale  is  greatly  altered. 
The  historical  element,  as  such,  disappears  entirely  and  the 
whole  is  made  purely  mythical  and  allegorical.1  Gefion  has 
become  a  modern  Ceres,  as  Atterbom  has  observed,  and  she 
comes  directly  from  the  home  of  the  gods  (Godheim)  to  the 
wild  inhabitants  of  the  North.  She  is  now  Odin's  daughter 
and  sister  of  Skjold;  appears  in  divine  splendor  in  all  Scandi- 
navian countries,  in  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  in  the 
order  named ;  and  has  only  three  sons,  Nore,  Sverker,  and  Dan, 
symbolic  of  the  three  Scandinavian  lands.  She  finally  ascends 
to  heaven  in  the  presence  of  the  settlers  of  Seeland  at  a  place 
which  later  became  Lei j re,  then  Copenhagen,  the  seat  of  the 
Danish  kings.  Fru  d'Albedyhll  makes  an  historical  assump- 
tion, also,  the  veracity  of  which  is  at  least  questionable.  Gefion 
teaches  a  Norwegian,  Thuler,  the  use  of  fire,  and  teaches  Gylfe 
the  art  of  plowing.  This  assumption  would  give  Sweden  a 
priority  in  agriculture  which  is  wholly  unwarranted. 

The  first  canto  of  the  epic  deals  with  deliberations  of  the 
Norse  gods  in  Asgard  on  the  future  welfare  of  Scandinavia. 
The  problem  is  how  to  improve  conditions  in  the  "  icy  North  " 
by  teaching  its  inhabitants  the  better  use  of  their  fields  and 
minerals.  Gefion  is  sent  down  to  earth  to  carry  out  this  mis- 
sion. In  the  second  canto,  the  bow-man  Thuler  ascends  the 
Dofre  mountain  in  Norway,  on  the  summit  of  which  he  intends 
to  pray  for  food  and  strength.  Gefion  appears  in  a  cloud  and 
joins  him,  they  descend  the  mountain  together,  and,  at  the  foot 

1  Cf.  the  account  of  Atterbom's  recension  of  "  Gefion  "  above,  in  Chap. 
I,  pp.  44ff.  For  the  recension  itself  see  "  Literara  karakteristiker,"  Orebro, 
1870,  pp.  115-35- 


89 

of  the  same,  the  trembling  youth  entertains  his  divine  guest 
as  best  he  can.  Thereupon  she  calls  forth  fire  from  the  earth, 
extracts  iron  from  a  stone  near  by,  and  teaches  Thuler  how  to 
form  it  and  use  it.  In  "heavenly  ecstacy"  he  embraces  the  god- 
dess ;  Thuler's  hut  becomes  a  temple,  and  in  the  vision  that  fol- 
lows he  sees  "  three  divine  children,"  is  told  that  the  place  upon 
which  they  stand  is  to  be  the  future  capital  of  Norway,  and 
then  the  goddess  disappears.  In  the  third  canto,  Gefion  comes 
to  Gylfe  in  Sweden,  where  "  the  warriors  lived  on  fish  and 
game  but  lacked  bread."  The  "majestic  mermaid,"  with  her 
"  three  small  elves,"  arrives  by  water,  and  the  arts  of  plowing, 
sowing,  reaping,  grinding,  baking,  and  brewing  are  taught. 
Gefion  spurns  divinely  Gylfe's  offer  of  marriage,  calls  the  land 
upon  which  she  stands  hers,  changes  her  sons  into  oxen,  and 
has  the  land  pulled  away.  The  poetess  says :  "  Lake  Logaren 
(Malar)  still  yearns  for  the  hour  when  it  may  be  re-united 
to  the  island."  The  last  canto  treats  first  of  the  deposition  of 
the  piece  of  land  in  the  sea,  then  of  the  settling  of  this  new 
island,  and,  lastly,  of  the  ascension  of  Gefion  to  Asgard  in  the 
presence  of  the  settlers. 

A  closer  examination  of  the  basic  material  in  the  epic  dis- 
closes a  very  generous  employment  of  Norse  mythology  in 
general.  "  Gefion  "  illustrates  exceedingly  well  how  deeply  the 
Gothic  tendency  had  become  rooted  outside  Gothic  circles,  for, 
if  we  are  to  believe  the  statement  of  the  authoress,  the  epic  was 
begun  before  the  Gothic  Society  was  founded.  Granberg's 
"  Jorund  "  did  not  call  for  a  very  elaborate  knowledge  of  Norse 
myths ;  it  was  based  simply  on  an  episode  in  an  heroic  saga  and, 
judging  from  his  tragedy,  there  is  no  evidence  that  Granberg 
went  very  deeply  into  the  study  of  Norse  antiquity.  But  with 
"  Gefion  "  it  is  different.  The  whole  framework  shows  a  long 
step  forward  and  reveals  a  tolerably  complete  knowledge  of 
the  Old  Norse  literature  that  was  available  in  Sweden  in  1810- 
1814.  Both  the  Eddas  and  the  Heimskringla  are  well  known 
to  the  authoress,  and  we  see  in  the  appended  notes  that  she 
knew  what  was  being  done  in  Denmark  also  in  this  line.1  In 
the  first  canto  especially  all  the  important  Norse  divinities  are 

i  Reference  is  made,  for  instance,  to  Baggesen's  "  Poesiens  oprindelse." 


90 

introduced  as  well  as  some  minor  ones,  their  characteristics 
and  dwelling-places  indicated,  and  their  environment  and  phys- 
ical attributes  described.  This  is  done  in  part  by  brief  and 
accurate  explanatory  notes  at  the  end  of  the  epic,  and  in  part 
by  expressions  woven  into  the  epic.  References  are  made  to 
episodes  in  the  lives  of  the  Scandinavian  gods,  such  as  Vgla's 
prophecy  of  Balder's  death,  and  the  final  fulfilment  of  it  at 
the  instigation  of  Loke.  A  reference  to  the  favorite  story  of 
the  origin  of  poetry,  the  story  of  Suttung's  mead,  as  told  in  the 
Tales  of  Brage  (BragarceSur  I)  finds  a  place  in  the  first  canto 
of  "  Gefion." 

The  whole  epic  of  "  Gefion,"  comprising  forty  pages,  is  a 
mixture  of  modernity,  classicism,  and  a  sublime,  almost  Chris- 
tianized, heathenism.  The  home  of  the  Asa-gods  and  their 
high-sounding  deliberations  would  do  honor  to  any  divinities. 
They  are  idealized;  they  move  on  a  high,  etherial  plane,  and 
are  either  stripped  entirely  of  all  intrinsic  crudeness,  or  their 
crudeness  is  artistically  concealed.  The  human  and  objective 
gods  are  made  more  subjective,  divine,  and  majestic,  and 
Gefion  ascends  to  heaven  much  as  Christ  did.  The  classical 
hexameter  lends  a  certain  questionable  dignity  to  the  poem,  but 
there  is  hardly  enough  of  it  in  this  case  to  make  it  monotonous. 
There  are  many  references  to  local  political  conditions ;  in  fact, 
"  Gefion  "  is  a  vehicle  for  the  glorification  of  the  royal  house 
and  the  ancestry  of  the  authoress.1  Furthermore,  it  is  a  vehicle 
for  the  exposition  of  Northern  nature.  Though  the  narrative 
itself  is  necessarily  brief  and  concentrated,  the  descriptions, 
whether  of  nature  or  of  characters,  are  comprehensive  and 
highly  colored.  Fru  d'Albedyhll  has  a  well-developed  sense  of 
the  picturesque.  The  Scandinavian  flora,  fish,  fowl,  minerals, 
and  climate  receive  constant  attention  with  a  goodly  coloring 
of  azure,  purple,  silver,  and  gold.  If  we  add  to  the  above  that 
the  epic  has  a  prophetic  and  a  didactic  element,  and  shows  in- 
fluence of  the  spirit  of  Rousseau  and  Montesquieu,  we  obtain 
some  idea  of  the  poetic  conglomerate  "  Gefion." 

The  comparatively  new  idea  that  the  history  of  a  people  must 
be  studied  in  the  light  of  its  geographical  environment  is  strik- 

i  Cf.  above,  p.  63,  for  Hammarskj old's  criticism  of  "  Gefion." 


91 

ingly  illustrated  in  the  fourth  canto,  11.  60-65.  Here  the  au- 
thoress touches  briefly  upon  the  topography  and  boundaries  of 
the  Scandinavian  countries  and  indicates  clearly  their  effect 
upon  the  character  and  political  condition  of  the  people.  Den- 
mark, for  instance,  is  a  level,  fertile  land ;  hence  its  inhabitants 
prefer  "  peaceful  trades  "  and  safety.  But  "  the  mountains  of 
Norway  and  Sweden,  on  the  other  hand,  have  for  a  long  time 
produced  vikings.  The  temperament  of  a  people  is  like  that 
of  the  lands :  one  is  protected  by  forests ;  the  Baltic  Sea  (Erida- 
nus)  itself  makes  secure  the  freedom  of  the  other." 

Charlotta  d'AlbedymTs  conception  of  the  viking  age  is  char- 
acteristically Gothic.  She  implies  that  the  modern  era  is  cor- 
rupt by  stating  that  the  mythological  age  was  incorrupt.  It 
is  the  same  Rousseauish  spirit  that  permeated  the  minds  of  all 
the  genuine  Goths.  The  viking,  to  the  authoress,  was  a  god- 
fearing, reliable  citizen,  whose  faith,  though  pagan,  had  not 
been  shattered  by  rationalism.  The  present  era  is  a  "  soulless 
clockwork,"  wisdom  has  vanished,  and  nature  is  dead.  The 
sentiments  of  the  poetess  are  lucidly  expressed  in  the  first  canto 
(11.  155-61).  She  is  describing  some  results  of  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  gods  and  this  gives  her  occasion  for  a  brief 
reflection : 

Sa  rattvisan  ar  stor  och  vordad  i  gudarnes  samfund: 

Sa  holl  Gothen  sitt  ord  i  de  oforderfvade  tider, 

Da  Allfader  annu  han  trodde,  och  skydde  ett  Narstrond; 

Innan  klyftiga  vislingar,  med  nymodiga  pafund, 

Bortforklarat  det  herrliga  Allt  till  ett  Intet,  ett  sjallost 

Urverk,  dodat  naturens  lif,  och  visheten  biltog 

Flytt  fran  en  jord,  der  laga  begar  med  dess  namn  sig  besmycka.1 

We  have  stated  that  "Gefion"  was  allegorical.  The  three 
sons  of  the  heavenly  messenger  Gefion  represent  the  three 
Scandinavian  countries.  If  we  carry  this  symbolism  a  step 

i  Thus  justice  is  revered  in  the  society  of  the  gods :  thus  the  Goth  kept 
his  word  in  those  incorrupt  times  when  he  still  believed  in  Allfather  and 
feared  Narstrond  (flood  of  sulphur  in  Muspelheim)  ;  before  shrewd  wise- 
lings,  with  new-fashioned  fancies,  explaining  away  the  glorious  All  to  a 
Nothing,  to  a  soulless  clockwork,  killed  the  life  of  Nature,  and  caused 
wisdom  to  be  exiled  from  an  earth  where  low  desires  adorn  themselves  with 
its  name. 


92 

further,  we  detect  beneath  the  surface  of  the  mythological 
fabric  the  didactic  and  the  prophetic  element,  and  both  are  often 
closely  intertwined.  The  didactic  element  consists  now  of  gen- 
eral truths,  as  the  authoress  sees  them,  and  now  of  special 
teachings,  applicable  to  conditions  in  Scandinavia.  For  in- 
stance, Gefion  says  in  the  first  canto  (11.  199-200)  : 

"Obedience  is  the  duty  of  woman  on  earth,  in  Asa-home  also; 
the  mildness  of  meekness  is  power,  and  patience  the  strength  of 
weakness." 

Now  take  a  specific  application.  From  the  strictly  Swedish 
viewpoint,  the  teaching  of  patriotism  in  "Gefion"  appears  to 
be  cosmopolitan,  paradoxical  as  that  may  seem.  The  poetess 
prefers  to  look  at  the  whole  North  as  a  unity.  It  is  not  a 
narrow-minded  patriotism  for  Sweden  alone  which  is  -discern- 
ible through  these  hexameters ;  it  is  a  broad-minded  sympathy 
for  all  the  Scandinavian  countries.  "  Gefion "  breathes  an 
ardent  hope  for  prosperity  in  Norway  and  Denmark  as  well  as 
in  Sweden,  and  its  fundamental  tone  is  a  plea  for  love,  unity, 
and  peace  throughout  the  North.  Gefion  was  sent  down  to 
earth  to  bring  "  abundance,  comfort,  and  industry  "  to  the  whole 
North.  "  May  my  song,"  says  the  poetess  (canto  I,  11.  11-12), 
"please  the  three-fold  North,  when  I  proclaim  the  three- fold 
power  of  Gefion  in  the  poem."  It  is  tolerably  certain  that  the 
authoress  has  some  form  of  a  political  union  of  the  Scandi- 
navian countries  in  mind,  when  she  speaks  in  canto  4  of  the 
three  crowns  in  the  coat-of-arms  upon  the  "  Northern  shield." 
The  prophetic  element  in  "Gefion"  may  be  said  to  have  three 
parts :  pure  invention  for  the  glorification  of  the  Swedish  nobility, 
the  foretelling  of  events  which  the  poetess  already  at  the  time 
of  writing  knew  to  be  historical  facts,  and  the  hopeful  pene- 
tration into  the  future,  i.  e.,  after  1814.  To  illustrate  the  last 
two :  iron  is  to  become  the  treasure  of  the  North,  but  the  North 
does  not  realize  its  inestimable  value;  a  prophecy,  the  fulfil- 
ment of  which,  during  the  last  century,  has  proved  of  far 
greater  consequence  than  the  authoress  could  ever  have  imag- 
ined. But  mark  the  didacticism  again.  This  iron,  "  presented 
by  Frigga  to  that  righteous  people  who  lived  in  woods  and 


93 

upon  the  mountains,"  may  not  be  discolored  by  human  blood, 
lest  rust  corrode  it.  Well  did  Charlotta  d'Albedyhll  know  that 
during  the  last  centuries  Scandinavian  iron  had  often  been 
stained  by  human  blood.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  look 
ahead  with  the  poetess  upon  the  nineteenth  century  we  see  with 
satisfaction  that  her  wish  has  been  realized ;  for  there  has  been 
no  war  in  Sweden  since  "  Gefion  "  was  published,  now  just  a 
century  ago.  We  may  well  say  that  the  original  mission  of 
Gefion,  as  described  by  Charlotta  d'Albedyhll  in  11.  191-96  of 
the  first  canto,  has  been  satisfactorily  fulfilled: 

"Thules  frusnade  jord  skall  plojas  af  idoga  hander, 
Fruktbara  fait  fran  hojderna  ses  och  mognade  skordar: 
Jernet,  Nordens  klenod,  ej  alltid  skall  fargas  af  blodet, 
Rosten  i  faran  det  skall  afslipa,  och  glansa  likt  silfver; 
Norden  skall  vaxa  i  makt,  och  trenne  kroner  den  pryda : 
Detta  blifver  ditt  verk,  o  Gefion  vanast  bland  dottrar!  "x 

A  word  more  about  the  descriptive  coloring,  and  the  fre- 
quency with  which  it  occurs.  At  times  the  descriptive  words 
have  an  almost  Romantic  tinge.  In  the  very  first  canto  (1.  36) 
Freya  flees  to  her  team  from  her  "rosy  bed"  (rosenbadd), 
even  Frigga's  sandals  are  gold  (1.  56),  her  voice  rings  out  like 
a  "silver-tone"  (silfverton,  1.  65),  and  Gefion  disappears  like 
a  "cloud  of  purple"  (purpursky,  1.  216).  In  the  following 
canto  the  sky  is  a  "beaming  purple"  (stralande  purpur,  1.  74), 
and  the  children  of  Gefion  cling  to  their  mother's  skirt  "  with 
rounded  hands  of  a  lily-color"  (rundade  hander  af  liljfarg, 
1.  178).  Again,  in  the  third  canto,  the  horizon  is  "striped 
with  gold,  azure  and  purple"  (1.  50),  the  sons  of  Gefion  are 
here  "gold-beaming  alike"  (gullglansande  lika,  1.  72),  Gefion 
sweetens  the  brew  for  Gylfe  with  "  honey- fragrant  flowers  " 
(honungsdoftande  blommor,  1.  126),  and  then  the  half  in- 
toxicated  king  looks  upon  the  "blue-eyed  goddess  with  a 
delirious  yearning"  (yrande  tranad,  1.  132).  Forsete's  palace 

1  The  frozen  earth  of  Thule  (the  North)  shall  be  plowed  by  industrious 
hands.  Fertile  fields  and  ripe  harvests  are  seen  from  the  heights.  Iron, 
the  treasure  of  the  North,  shall  not  always  be  stained  by  blood;  it  shall 
scour  off  the  rust  in  the  furrow  and  it  shall  shine  like  silver.  The  North 
shall  grow  in  power,  and  three  crowns  adorn  it.  Let  this  be  your  mission, 
Oh,  Gefion,  fairest  of  daughters ! 


94 

in  the  last  canto  is,  of  course,  gold  and  silver.  Gefion's 
brother  Skjold  has  a  purple  cloak  (1.  23),  from  the  shoulders 
of  Gefion's  children  there  appear  "  gold-gleaming  wings " 
(gullskimrande  vingar,  1.  136),  upon  the  sky  there  flashes  up 
a  northern  light,  "blushing  as  the  rose"  (rosenrodnande,  1. 
171),  and,  finally  (1.  187),  we  find  a  "silver-winged"  (silfver- 
vingad)  shield.  As  an  example  of  a  rich  coloring  with  a  Fos- 
foristic  phraseology,  the  following  description  of  Freya  is 
worth  quoting: 

Freya,  bekransad  och  skon,  fran  sin  slanda  leende  uppstod: 
Bar  i  hvar  hand  en  svallande  ros ;  en  hvit  i  den  hogra, 
Och  in  den  vensta  en  rod;  pa  brostet  glimmade  Brising, 
Hojande  halsens  blandande  sno  och  rundningens  svanglans; 
Kring  gullsnorade  fotterna  latt  flog  luftiga  dragten.1 

The  beautiful  and  detailed  descriptions  of  Norse  nature  in 
"  Gefion  "  constitute  a  very  significant  part  of  the  epic.  How 
true  and  realistic  these  are,  and  how  disproportionately  long  in 
comparison  with  the  total  length  of  the  poem,  is  seen  in  the 
following  characteristic  selection.  It  is  a  picture  of  the  icy 
Dofre  mountain  in  Norway,  with  its  fowl  and  flora,  and  is 
inserted  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  canto  (II,  19-36)  : 

Dofres  valdiga  fjall,  betackt  af  sno  och  kristaller, 
Hvilka  till  massor  hojts  af  vinterns  langsamma  stranghet, 
Borjade  smaningom  re'n  beskinas  af  varmande  stralar. 
Val,  i  gestalt  af  ett  vattenfall,  som  i  forssandet  stelnat, 
Haftades  isen  annu,  bergfast,  vid  den  hotande  klippan; 
Men  for  solens  eldiga  blick  gaf  vika  hans  hardhet. 
Droppvis  got  han  sig  ned,  forvandlad  och  tinad,  till  f  jallets 
Vidt  omgransande  fot,  i  djupet,  och  okade  backen, 
Som  med  moda  sokte  sig  vag  bland  barren  och  skraf-is, 
Senaste  hostens  gulnade  lof  och  splittrade  grenar. 
Gran  ens  spetsiga  topp  skot  fram  sma  fjallade  forskott, 
Bjorkens  hangande  ris  betyngdes  af  knoppar  med  brunrod 

i  Freya,  crowned  with  a  wreath  and  beautiful,  arose  from  her  distaff ; 
carried  in  each  hand  a  swelling  rose ;  a  white  one  in  the  right,  and  a  red 
one  in  the  left;  upon  her  breast  glimmered  Brising  (her  neck-lace),  height- 
ening (the  beauty  of)  the  blinding  snow  of  her  neck  and  the  swan-splendor 
of  her  bosom ;  around  gold-laced  feet  flew  lightly  the  airy  garb.  Canto  I, 
11.  81-84. 


95 

Farg,  och  fornadens  nedarsta  del  man  skadade  gronska, 
Da  dess  yttersta  spets  hoprullad  hangde  och  torkad. 
Af  och  an  for  gladan,  och  stracker  sin  flackiga  vinge, 
Orren  spelande  yfs  och  tjadern  slar  tungt  ner  pa  granen, 
Breder  en  ornlik  vinge  sa  stolt,  och  hackar  med  nabben, 
Ruskar  hufvedet  se'n,  och  slar  flerfaldiga  flocken.1 

In  so  far  as  "Gefion"  preserves  the  original  saga  material 
we  may  call  it  Romantic.  Then,  too,  the  love  for  brilliant  col- 
oring and  an  occasional  turn  of  phrase  reveals  a  certain  sensi- 
tiveness to  the  new  literary  disturbances.  But  beyond  this 
"Gefion"  must  be  characterized,  like  "Jorund,"  as  primarily 
non-Romantic.  The  choice  of  meter,  the  elevated  tone,  and 
the  prevailing  objectivity  stamp  the  poem  as  a  rationalistic 
product.  The  naive  charm  of  the  primitive  saga  is  suppressed 
entirely.  The  goddess,  who  is  so  human  in  the  original  myth, 
becomes  enraged  in  a  very  rational  way  when  Gylfe  tries  to 
embrace  her,  and,  in  revenge,  she  takes  the  piece  of  land  by 
violence  instead  of  being  presented  with  it  as  a  token  of  love 
and  admiration.  In  other  words,  the  motivation  of  the  main 
action  has  become  extremely  selfish.  It  is  motivated  by  a  shal- 
low, impulsive  anger — the  justification  of  which  is  at  least  very 
doubtful2 — instead  of  by  kindness  and  the  unselfish  desire  of 
reward. 

1  The  huge  mountains  of  Dofre,  covered  with  snow  and  crystals,  which 
had   been   increased   to   masses   by   the   persistent   severity   of   the   winter, 
began  already,  to  be  illumined  gradually  by  warming  sun-beams.     To  be 
sure,  the  ice,  in  the  form  of  a  waterfall  which  had  solidified  in  the  run- 
ning, still  clung  tenaciously  to  the  threatening  cliff ;  but  its  hardness  gave 
way  to  the  fiery  glance  of  the  sun.     Transformed  and  melted,  it  trickled 
down   into   the  depths,   drop   by   drop,   to   the   far-extending   foot    (of  the 
mountain),    and    swelled    the    brook    which    made    its    way    with    difficulty 
through  the  pine-needles  and  brittle  ice,  through  the  yellow  leaves  and 
splintered  branches   of  the  last  autumn.     The  pointed  top   of  the  spruce 
pushed  out  scaly  shoots,  the  hanging  foliage  of  the  white  birch  was  made 
heavy  by  buds  of  a  brownish-red  color,  and  the  lowest  part  of  the  twig 
began  to  show  green,  while  its  extreme  point  hung  like  a  scroll  and  with- 
ered.    The  kite  flies  back  and  forth,  and  stretches  its  mottled  wing;  the 
black    cock,    playing,    spreads    his    plumage ;    and    the    wood-grouse    beats 
heavily  down  upon  the  spruce,  spreads  an  eagle-like  wing  so  proudly,  pecks 
with  his  beak,  shakes  his  head  afterwards,  and  gives  his   characteristic, 
varied  call. 

2  Tegner  doubted  very  much  whether  a  human  goddess  would  be  so  ter- 
ribly offended  at  the  king's  intended  caresses.     The  principal  moment  of 


96 

The  authoress  submitted  her  epic  to  Tegner  for  criticism  and 
his  views  are  contained  in  a  letter  to  her,  dated  July  15,  I8I3.1 
Tegner  omits  purposely  "what  is  beautiful  in  the  poem"  and 
devotes  his  attention  to  what  he  considers  "less  successful." 
He  doubts  the  suitability  of  the  hexameter  for  a  Gothic  theme  ;2 
the  hexameter  should  be  limited  to  translations  from,  and  imi- 
tations of,  the  antique,  such  as  Voss'  "Luise"  and  Goethe's 
"Hermann  und  Dorothea."  The  hexameter  is,  after  all,  out 
of  harmony  with  Old  Norse  content ;  it  is,  in  this  case,  a  "  Ro- 
man tunic  on  a  Northern  goddess."  For  the  Gothic  languages 
the  sagas  and  older  German  poems,  for  example,  the  "Lied 
der  Nibelungen,"  furnish  suitable  verse-forms.  The  critic  has 
another  objection.  For  Gefion  to  give  instruction  in  the  art  of 
brewing  (canto  3)  is  unnecessary  and  out  of  place,  he  believes; 
it  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  tone  of  the  rest  of  the  poem. 
The  plan  of  the  whole,  also,  lacks  that  well-rounded  develop- 
ment and  completeness  which  is  a  paramount  merit.  For  in- 
stance, it  is  unnatural  to  think  that  any  barbarian  like  Thuler 
should  be  ignorant  of  the  use  of  fire.  Again,  nothing  new 
takes  place  on  Seeland,  for  Gefion  really  teaches  agriculture  in 
both  Sweden  and  Denmark.  Tegner  proposes  the  following 
plan:  the  exposition  of  the  gradual  development  of  the  State 
in  the  North  out  of  a  condition  of  barbarism.  This  would  in- 
volve three  important  stages:  the  age  of  hunting  and  fishing, 
the  age  of  stock-raising,  and  the  age  of  agriculture.  The 
scenes  of  these  three  stages  could  be  laid  in  Norway,  Sweden, 
and  Denmark,  respectively,  and  be  depicted  in  three  separate 
songs,  much  as  the  poetess  had  already  done.  The  myth  about 
the  oxen  would  then  be  appropriate  in  the  second  canto.  All 
this  might  not  be  absolutely  correct,  historically,  but  that  would 
make  little  difference  from  a  poetic  viewpoint. 

action  thereby  receives  "  an  aspect  of  accidentally  and  chance,"  says 
Tegner,  "  which  can  hardly  be  reconciled  with  the  general  laws  of  art. 
Because  it  seems  to  follow,  that,  if  Gylfe  had  had  a  colder  temperament 
and  had  been  less  intoxicated,  Seeland  would  have  been  lying  in  Uppland 
(in  Sweden)  to  this  day."  See  letter  to  E.  C.  d'Abedyhll  of  July  5,  1813. 
In  "Skrifter"  Jubelfestupplaga,  V,  pp.  91-92.  For  whole  letter  see  pp.  88-93. 

1  See  preceding  note. 

2  In  "  Gefion  "  the  hexameter  was  not  always  perfect  either  and  needed 
a  thorough  revision.     Even  in  their  final  form  some  lines  are  difficult  to  read. 


97 

What  effect  these  suggestions  had  upon  the  mind  of  the 
authoress  we  cannot  tell.  But  the  fact  is  that  the  epic  ap- 
peared in  its  original  form,  with  some  verses  revised,  perhaps, 
and  the  plan  remained  unaltered.  And  so  we  must  accept  the 
epic  as  it  stands,  and  for  what  it  is  worth.  It  is  an  interesting 
bit  of  readable  poetic  experimentation,  with  Old  Norse  content 
and  classical  form.  Most  of  the  hexameters  are  good,  nothing 
is  felt  as  commonplace,  many  passages  are  really  beautiful,  and 
the  time  of  composition  and  publication  gives  the  poem  a  cer- 
tain historical  value. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  THEORETICAL  PROBLEM  OF  INTRODUCING  NORSE  MYTHOL-  / 
OGY  INTO  SWEDISH  ART  AND  POETRY 

"  Der  griechieschen  Mythologie  steht,  wenigstens  in  romantischer 
Erhabenheit  weit  naher  als  die  indische,  die  nordische,  ein  Reich 
voll  Eispallaste,  Eisseen,  Eisberge;  ihr  Menschengeschlecht  ein 
Eichenwald  im  Sturm." 

Jean  Paul  Friedrich  Richter :  Review  of  Fouque's 
"  Sigurd  der  Schlangentodter." 

What  would  have  happened  if  "  Frithiof's  Saga  "  had  ap- 
peared at  the  beginning  of  the  Romantic  period  in  Sweden 
instead  of  toward  the  end?  Would  it  have  deflected  all  the 
new  tendencies  into  the  national  channel  and  destroyed  the 
symbolic,  philosophical  movement?  Would  it  have  silenced 
neutral  skepticism  and  conservative  opposition  to  the  anti- 
French  system  of  literary  expression?  Nobody  can  tell  with 
any  degree  of  precision,  but  it  is  tolerably  certain  that,  if  a 
poet  of  Tegner's  caliber  had  treated  some  phase  of  Norse  my- 
thology at  an  earlier  date,  the  objections  to  its  use  in  art  and 
poetry  would  have  been  much  reduced,  if  not  entirely  elimi- 
nated. As  it  was,  no  one  had  been  able  to  prove,  in  a  practical, 
convincing  way,  that  the  indigenous  sagas  and  myths  had  any 
real  artistic  value,  and  the  mere  fact  that  they  were  indigenous 
was  not  sufficient.  The  prej  udice  against  anything  new,  whether 
national  or  not,  was  shamelessly  strong  and  the  burden  of 
proof,  naturally,  lay  with  the  reformers.  Atterbom  in  his 
"  Skaldarmal "  could  not  expect  any  revolutionary  success ;  as 
we  have  seen,  it  was  a  commendable  and  important  poem,  his- 
torically, but  it  was  no  phenomenal  masterpiece  and  the  author 
had  already  fallen  into  disrepute  by  his  Fosforistic  obscur- 
antism and  had  a  marked  prejudice  against  him.  His  direct 
Norse  influence  on  the  Old  School,  therefore,  could  not  be  very 
effective.  Geijer,  whose  national  poems  (on  the  viking,  the 

98 


99 

primitive  farmer,  the  last  warrior,  and  the  last  skald)  had  ap- 
peared in  the  first  number  of  Iduna,  was  eulogized  by  Fos- 
forists,  neutrals,  and  conservatives  alike,  but  he  never  employed 
Scandinavian  myths,  per  se,  at  all,  as  a  basis  for  his  poetry. 
Geijer  was  too  objective  and  had  too  keen  an  historical  sense, 
it  seems,  to  venture  very  far  into  an  unexplored  mythological 
field.  Ling  was  the  only  man  who  took  up  the  subject  com- 
prehensively, but  he  went  to  the  other  extreme,  so  that  even  the 
Goth  Geijer  became  alarmed,  and  the  beginning  of  Ling's  gi- 
gantic epic,  "The  Asas"  (Asarne),  of  which  eight  songs 
appeared  in  1816,  left  the  question  of  ultimate  success  a  matter 
of  conjecture. 

It  may,  then,  not  seem  so  strange  that,  during  the  second 
decade  especially,  there  continued  to  prevail  a  certain  luke- 
warmness  or  skepticism  about  the  adaptability  of  Norse  my- 
thology to  poetic  themes,  even  among  some  members  of  the 
New  School.  Natural  disasters,  such  as  the  loss  of  Finland, 
were  equally  unable  to  create  a  general,  unalloyed  faith  in 
national  myths,  and  the  problem  of  their  suitableness  for  the 
plastic  arts  was  a  still  more  serious  matter.  The  main  results 
of  this  agitation  were  a  series  of  lectures  on  Norse  mythology 
and  art  by  Ling,  a  treatise  on  the  adaptability  of  the  new  myths 
to  plastic  art  by  Geijer,  a  parody  and  a  satire  on  the  Gothic 
tendencies  in  art  by  the  disciples  of  the  Old  School,  and  some 
light,  inoffensive  satire  by  Vitalis. 

Sweden  was  not  the  only  country  to  sound,  by  theoretical 
means,  the  practicability  of  introducing  Norse  divinities  into 
art.  Both  Germany  and  Denmark  preceded  Sweden  in  this 
respect.  But  wherever  the  problem  is  agitated  the  method  of 
approach  is  the  same,  namely  to  compare  the  new  mythology 
with  other  poetic  systems,  using  Greek  mythology  as  a  standard. 

Herder  adopts  this  method  and  in  his  "  Iduna,  oder  der  Apfel 
der  Verjiingung,"  he  expresses  in  dialog  form  his  own  views 
on  the  subject.  Norse  mythology  may  not  be  adopted  in  art 
or  poetry  at  the  expense  of  the  Greek,  which  is  the  most  refined 
in  the  world,  and,  moreover,  plastic  art  and  a  philosophy  of 
art  never  thrived  (war  nie  zu  Hause)  under  a  Northern  sky.1 

i  Sammtliche  Werke  (Suphan  edition),  Vol.  18,  p.  501.  All  references 
are  to  this  edition. 


100 

That  all  the  Germans  were  not  of  the  same  opinion,  however, 
is  seen  in  Herder's  second  treatise  on  Norse  mythology,  "Zu- 
tritt  der  nordischen  Mythologie  zur  neueren  Dichtkunst." 
After  speaking  of  the  work  of  Klopstock  and  Gerstenberg  on 
Northern  themes,  he  adds :  "  Soon  there  arose  a  party  who  not 
only  placed  this  (Norse)  mythology  above  the  Greek,  but  in 
comparison  with  the  former  almost  ridiculed  the  latter."1  In 
1807  Grater  publicly  suggested  the  employment  of  Norse  myths 
in  art,  but  the  continental  wars  temporarily  frustrated  his 
plans.  His  letters  on  the  subject,  however,  appeared  in  Danish 
translation  in  Copenhagen  in  i82i.2  From  1812-1816,  in 
Idunna  und  Hermode,  Grater  proposed  to  furnish  a  series  of 
copper  engravings  on  characters  and  scenes  in  Norse  mythology 
to  serve  as  a  guide  for  students  in  plastic  art.3  Grater  received 
much  encouragement  in  his  proposals  from  other  German  and 
Danish  authors. 

In  Denmark  the  a  priori  reasoning  for  and  against  the  recog- 
nition of  the  Norse  myths  in  art  or  poetry  was  unusually  vio- 
lent and  raged  for  several  years.  There  were  two  factions: 
one  pleaded  sensibly  for  an  appropriate  use  of  the  national 
myth,  and  the  other  sought  to  disqualify  it  entirely.  There 
was  no  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  radicals,  however,  as  far  as 
I  know,  to  discredit  the  Greek  mythology  by  ridicule,  as  Herder 
tells  us  was  the  case  in  Germany,  or  as  Romanticists  were 
forced  to  do  in  Sweden.  The  history  of  this  controversy  is 
well  known,  especially  in  Scandinavia,  and  I  need  only  refer 
here  to  an  important  aspect  and  conclusion  for  the  sake  of  its 
bearing  on  the  controversy  in  Sweden. 

In  1800  the  University  of  Copenhagen  submitted  the  follow- 
ing questions  for  consideration.  "  Would  it  be  beneficial  for 
the  polite  literature  of  the  North  if  the  ancient  Northern  my- 
thology were  introduced  and  accepted  in  place  of  the  Greek?  "* 
Three  young  enthusiasts  responded  by  written  treatises,  Oehlen- 
schlager,  J.  M  oiler,  and  L.  L.  Platou,  all  of  whom  later  became 

iWerke:  24,  p.  312.     Cf.  above,  Chap.  I,  p.  15. 

2  Cf.  Hjarne :  Gotiska  forbundet,  p.  69. 

3  Cf .  Blanck:  Den  nordiska  renassansen,  p.  182. 

4  Cf.  Arentzen:  Baggesen  og  Oehlenschlager,  I,  p.  i97ff. 


101 

professors.  Oehlenschlager,  whose  paper  received  an  accessit 
from  the  university,  found  a  wealth  of  epic  material  in  the 
Norse  myths  and  believed  that  the  older  the  period  from  which 
the  poet  took  his  material  the  better  it  was  for  him.1  The  North- 
ern myths  were  neither  unfruitful  (fattig)  nor  coarse  (raa) 
and  all  the  competitors  agreed  that  Scandinavian  mythology 
might  well  be  introduced  into  art,  though  not  at  the  expense  of 
the  Greek  or  Roman.2  This  view  is  substantially  the  same, 
then,  as  that  of  Herder.  In  the  interim,  the  battle  in  Denmark 
was  constantly  growing  in  intensity.  In  1812  Moller  published 
an  article  on  the  adaptability  of  the  Norse  myth  to  the  fine  arts. 
As  an  extreme  type  of  the  conservatives  we  may  mention  the 
Danish  professor  Thorkel  Baden.  Baden  believed,  as  did  the 
German  Schlozer,3  that  the  Edda  was  nothing  but  an  invention 
of  Christian  monks  and  not  a  collection  of  original,  ancient 
poetry.4  Professor  Baden  doubted  whether  the  Norse  myths 
had  ever  been  a  living  belief  of  a  people  or  that  they  could  be 
employed  successfully  in  art. 

Just  as  the  Romanticists  in  Sweden  sought  to  establish  an 
independent,  national  poetry,  they  (and  more  especially  the 
"  Goths  ")  sought  also  to  pave  the  way  for  an  original,  national 
school  of  art,  based  on  Norse  mythology.  It  was  a  determined 
assault  upon  the  old  ramparts,  even  in  this  case,  with  no  respect 
for  la w  or  authority.  But  to  the  ultra-conservatives,  who  stripped 
the  characters  of  the  new  myths  of  all  human  traits  and  ignored 
their  position  in  the  more  historical  saga,  the  resuscitated  divin- 
ities became  formless  monsters.  And  then  the  exposed  gods 
were  submitted,  from  the  beginning,  to  the  same  searching  test 
as  in  other  countries,  that  is,  to  a  comparison  with  the  idealized 
classical  divinities.  The  fact  that  the  new  gods  were  Norse, 
as  I  have  just  said,  was  of  little  consequence  to  the  skeptical 
mind ;  patriotism  did  not  serve  to  render  a  lenient  verdict  and 
the  old  academic  school  of  art  insisted  upon  an  exclusively 
classical  raison  d'etre. 

1  Cf.  ibid.,  p.  199. 

2  Cf.  Hjarne :  Gotiska  forbundet,  p.  69. 

3  Presumably  August  Ludwig  v.   Schlozer   (1735-1809).     He  published 
"Allgemeine  nordische  Geschichte,"  Halle,  1772,  sBde. 

*Cf.  Hjarne:  as  above,  p.  63.     Ling  replies  to  this  contention  in  his 
"  Sinnebildslara." 

8 


102 

As  early  as  1798  A.  E.  Afzelius  expressed  the  conviction  that 
Norse  mythology  was  better  suited  for  Swedish  customs  than 
the  myths  of  Greece  and  Rome.1  But  in  1811  the  Academic 
organ,  Journal  for  Litteraturen  och  Theaiern,  edited  by  Wall- 
mark,  takes  a  different  stand.  In  a  review  of  the  first  number 
of  Iduna,2  the  reviewer  laments,  indeed,  the  frigid  attitude 
toward  "  our  ancient  monuments  and  history,"  and  on  the 
whole,  gives  a  favorable  criticism  of  the  new  periodical,  but 
reveals  a  slight  preference  for  classical  mythology.  The  Norse 
myths  deserve  to  be  known  and  used  both  from  an  historical 
and  esthetic  standpoint,  but  they  cannot  replace  the  Greek  or 
Roman.3  We  have,  then,  from  the  first,  as  in  Denmark  and 
Germany,  two  opposite  tendencies,  although,  as  we  shall  see, 
no  important  Swedish  critic  of  art  existed,  whether  Goth,  neu- 
tral, or  Academician,  who  ever  expected  or  intended  actually  to 
replace  the  Greek  system. 

From  1799  to  1804  Per  Henrik  Ling  studied  in  Copenhagen. 
He  attended  the  private  gymnastic  institute  of  Franz  Nachti- 
gall,  plunged  into  grammars  and  dictionaries  at  the  Royal  Li- 
brary, and  became  acquainted  with  the  works  of  Ewald,  Bag- 
gesen,  and  the  young  Oehlenschlager.  He  learned  to  know  the 
ancient  Northern  literature  and  culture,  which  began  at  once 
to  have  a  tremendous  effect  on  the  future  epic  poet  and  teacher 
of  gymnastics.  From  1802  to  1804  Ling  attended  the  lectures  of 
Henrik  Steffens,  who  sought  to  interpret  the  deep  meaning  of 
the  golden,  mythological  age;  an  age  when  the  universe  itself 
was  looked  upon  as  a  spiritual  organism,  "  when  sacred  sagas 
interpreted  the  future  history  of  the  earth,  and  profound  sym- 
bols (myths)  reflected  the  metamorphoses  of  nature."4  It  was 
an  age  of  harmony,  plastic  art,  and  epic  poetry.  Ling  returned 
to  Sweden  in  1804,  became  teacher  of  fencing  at  Lund  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  and  soon  after  that  began  to  formulate  plans  for 
a  wholesale  introduction  of  Norse  mythology  and  saga  into 
Swedish  poetry  and  art. 

1  See  above :  Introduction,  p.  24.     Cf .  also  Blanck :  Den  nordiska  rennas- 
sansen,  p.  299. 

2  Numbers  195-98. 

3  No.  198. 

*Cf.  Westerblad:  P.  H.  Ling,  p.  17.  Contents  from  Steffens:  Inled- 
ning  til  philosophiske  forelaesninger.  Kjob.,  1803. 


103 

From  a  letter  by  Carl  Adolf  Agardh  to  Hammarskjold,  dated 
August  6,  iSio,1  we  learn  that  the  latter  was  engaged  in  writing 
a  sort  of  history  of  Swedish  art  for  Ling's  benefit.  Evidently 
Ling  had  already  in  mind  something  like  his  future  lectures  on 
the  use  of  Scandinavian  mythology  in  art,  and  desired  to  obtain 
a  characterization  of  the  most  important  Swedish  artists  up  to 
that  time.  Ling  asked  Agardh  to  thank  Hammarskjold  "a 
thousand  fold  "  and  to  write  him  not  to  trouble  himself  about 
the  less  important  geniuses.  In  the  spring  of  1814,  however, 
Hammarskjold  himself  made  public  use  of  his  material  and 
delivered  fifteen  lectures  in  Stockholm  upon  the  history  of  art. 
They  were  repeated  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year.  They 
have  no  particular  significance  for  us,  for  most  of  the  lectures 
dealt  with  foreign  artists,2  and  only  the  last  lecture  was  devoted 
to  Swedish  art.  Yet  Hammarskjold  should  be  remembered  as 
a  pioneer  in  this  field,  and  as  a  Fosforist  unknowingly  helping 
a  Goth  of  the  most  extreme  type  to  prepare  the  way  for  new 
motifs  and  a  national  art.  Hammarskj old's  lectures  were  pub- 
lished later  and  reviewed  in  Svensk  Litter atur-Tidning,  i8i8.3 

No  one  was  more  ardent  to  introduce  the  new  mythology  than 
Ling,  and  from  1814  to  1817  he  delivered  in  Stockholm,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  newly  organized  "  Society  for  the  Study  of 
Art,"  his  meritorious  lectures  on  the  "  Employment  of  Norse 
Myths  in  Fine  Art."4  Ling  had  already  tested,  or  was  testing, 
the  new  saga  element  both  in  epic  and  dramatic  form;5  he 
looked  to  Norse  paganism  for  his  ideal ;  the  power,  the  depth, 

1  Frunck:  Bref  rorande  den  nya  skolans  historia,  II,  p.  116. 

2  Oriental,  Greek,  Roman,  Italian,  Flemish,  German,  Spanish,  English, 
and  Danish. 

3  "  De  bildande  konsternas  historia,"  reviewed  in  numbers  8,  9,  12  and 
13.     Hammarskjold  is  criticized  here  for  haste  and  serious  mistakes.     Judg- 
ing from  the  above  mentioned  letter  by  Agardh  to  Hammarskjold,  we  must 
conclude   that   Hammarskjold   attempted   to   cover  the   field   too   minutely, 
found  the  task  more  difficult  than  he  expected  for  the  time  he  had  at  his 
disposal,  and  so  failed  to  grasp  all  the  fundamentals. 

*  The  lectures  were  first  given  in  a  hall  at  the  Institute  of  Gymnastics 
and  then,  in  1816,  in  the  so-called  "  lilla  Beursalen."  Cf.  Westerblad : 
Ling,  p.  81,  and  note  3. 

s  The  first  draft  of  the  epic  "  Gylf e "  appeared  in  1810,  the  tragedy 
"Agne"  in  1812,  the  historical  tragedy  "  Eylif  den  Gothiske,"  of  early 
conception,  1814. 


104 

and  the  grandeur  of  the  native  mythology  appealed  to  him 
with  an  irresistible  force.  In  patriotic  spirit  and  love  for 
Swedish  antiquity  he  was  a  Rudbeckian;  in  practice,  a  reli- 
giously devout  student  of  all  Norse  mythology.  The  science 
of  gymnastics  gave  him  an  insight  into  the  harmony  of  the 
human  body,  and  he  now  yearned  to  see  his  ideal  type  personi- 
fied in  art  in  terms  of  Odin,  Thor,  or  Frigga.  J.  Adlerbeth 
writes  to  Tegner  from  Stockholm,  the  nth  of  April,  1815  i1 
"  From  the  end  of  January  to  Easter,  Ling  lectured  here  on 
Norse  mythology  to  a  very  large  audience,"  and  Adlerbeth, 
who  attended  the  lectures,  characterizes  them  as  being  of 
"really  great  merit." 

A  complete  record  of  Ling's  original  lectures  has  never  been 
found,  but  a  good  general  idea  of  their  contents  and  value  may 
be  obtained  from  Ling's  "  Symbolism  of  the  Eddas"  (Ed- 
dornas  sinnebildslara)  published  in  iSig.2  According  to  Ling 
himself3  this  work  was  to  consist,  ultimately,  of  four  parts 
and  the  last  was  to  contain  a  mythological  dictionary  and  a  sup- 
plement for  the  guidance  of  painters  and  sculptors.  Only  the 
first  part  ever  appeared  complete  in  print,  however,  and  only 
detached  parts  of  the  supplement  (Bihang)  for  artists.  But 
the  introduction  to  the  first  part  and  what  remains  of  the  sup- 
plement are  sufficient  for  our  purpose. 

Ling  uses  the  comparative  method  like  Herder  and  Oehlen- 
schlager.  With  some  historical  sense  he  shows  how  the  geo- 
graphical location  and  climate  turned  the  Old  Norse  method  of 
artistic  expression  into  lyric  form  rather  than  into  painting  or 
sculpture,  as  was  possible  in  Greece.  Ling  does  not  expect, 
any  more  than  his  predecessors,  that  the  Northern  myths  will 
expel  the  Southern  ;4  but  they  were  from  the  beginning  incor- 

1  Esaias  Tegners  papper,  p.  68.  , 

2  Ling's  theoretical  views  on  Norse  myths  are  scattered  all  through  his 
works  and  often  specifically  stated  in  his  elaborate  notes  to  his  Asa-epic. 
From  these  the  contents   of  his  lectures   can   easily  be   synthesized.     We 
possess  a  few  of  Adlerbeth's  notes  on  Ling's  lectures,  but,  apparently,  they 
cover  only  a  period  of  about  a  week,  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  twenty- 
second  of  November,  1816.     Cf.  Westerblad :  Ling,  p.  83,  and  note  z.    The 
"  Sinnebildslara  "  is  favorably  reviewed  in  Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning  for 
1820,  Nos.  35-36. 

3  See  Samlade  arbeten,  II,  pp.  332-33.     References  are  to  this  work. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  330. 


105 

porated  with  the  skaldic  tongue  of  his  forefathers  and  should 
therefore  be  revived.  Both  Greek  and  Norse  myths  contain 
poetic  creations  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  represent  faith- 
fully in  plastic  art.1  The  Odyssey  and  the  Aeneid,  as  well  as 
the  sagas,  contain  monsters.  Giants  with  dragons'  tails,  centaurs, 
satyrs,  or  Cyclopes  are  as  little  adapted  for  the  chisel  as  "  our 
formless  trolls."  Our  Norse  ancestors  never  offended  the  law 
of  beauty  but  no  artist  sought  to  perfect  it.2  The  Greek  has 
a  larger  number  of  "beautiful  symbols"  from  social  life  and 
sensual  pleasure,  but  the  Norse  far  outstrips  the  former  in 
the  number  of  those  with  moral  and  religious  attributes.3  The 
Norse  myth  is  serious,  gloomy,  and  mysterious;  that  of  the 
Greek  mild  and  charming.* 

Ling's  "  Edda-Symbolism,"  as  the  name  implies,  bears  an  un- 
mistakable Romantic  stamp.  He  revels  in  the  Norse  myths 
like  a  child  in  a  fairy-story.  To  grasp  their  full  meaning  one 
must  reflect  upon  these  myths  with  the  fervency  of  a  child.5 
The  language  and  spirit  throughout  is  that  of  a  Sturmer-und- 
Dranger  who  is  determined  to  make  his  point.  Flashes  of 
genius,  forceful  expressions,  and  a  wonderful  acuteness  in  his 
arguments,  give  his  plea  a  logical  and  convincing  character.  In 
many  respects  his  method  and  patriotism  remind  one  of  Hein- 
rich  von  Kleist.  Kleist  had  no  sympathy  for  the  Rheinbund, 
whose  members  he  considered  traitors  to  the  fatherland ;  simi- 
larly, the  Asa-bard  becomes  almost  fanatic  in  his  assertions 
about  his  countrymen's  indifference  to  national  material.  That 
citizen  who  is  "  cold  to  native  traditions  and  doubts  the  possi- 
bility of  restoring  his  country's  honor,  is  already  in  danger  of 
becoming  a  traitor  to  his  fatherland."6  "  The  cosmopolitan  is 
the  most  lukewarm  and  weakest  of  all  beings."7  It  aught  to  be 
the  duty  of  every  mother  not  to  make  her  offspring  an  "  ape," 
that  is  an  imitator  of  foreigners.8  The  Norse  myths  are  the 
beginning  of  Scandinavian  history  and  the  great  personalities 
in  its  sagas  represent  the  "Urbild"  of  the  nation's  power. 

IP.  325.  s  P.  331. 

2  P.  325.  6P.  330. 

3  P.  327.  7  P.  329. 

4  P.  322.  8  P.  330. 


106 

More  than  that,  the  Norse  myths  contain  the  very  fundamental 
germs  (grundfron)  of  a  revealed  religion  and  every  one  of  its 
"pagan  thinkers"  felt  (anade)  the  "eternal  truths  of  Revela- 
tion."1 Symbols — and  Ling  means  those  in  the  Edda  especially 
— are  the  real  language  of  religion,  and  the  myths  represent  our 
ancestors'  crude  investigations  in  religion  and  philosophy.  The 
Romantic  art  of  poetry  is  a  true,  inherent  element  of  the 
Norse  myths.  The  Scandinavian  gods  and  goddesses  are 
nature-symbols2 — observe  the  influence  of  the  Romantic  nature- 
philosophy — in  no  wise  antagonistic  to  Christianity,  and  may 
therefore  be  employed  with  propriety  by  artists  of  Christian 
faith.  Rousseauism  also  plays  a  part  in  Ling's  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Edda-myths.  The  myths  of  a  people  become 
"broadened,  or  more  correctly  speaking  corrupted,  the  more 
the  number  of  its  poets  and  the  political  power  of  the  people 
increase;  for  then  this  religious,  philosophical  art  of  poetry 
assumes  a  more  historical  character,  and  actual  events  expel, 
to  a  large  degree,  the  meaning  of  the  symbols  which  its  thinkers 
and  skalds  have  introduced."3 

The  fragmentary  supplement  for  artists,  as  printed,  contains 
but  34  pages,4  including  four  on  Old  Norse  dress  and  armor. 
It  is  a  careful  compilation  of  the  mental  and  physical  character- 
istics of  the  various  Scandinavian  divinities,  with  their  impor- 
tant attributes,  all  based  on  the  Edda.  Naturally  much  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  facial  expression  as  a  mirror  of  character,  dig- 
nity, and  office.  Many  of  Ling's  suggestions  are  to  be  taken 
merely  as  suggestions;  originality  is  of  paramount  significance 
in  art  and  the  details  of  the  execution,  therefore,  are  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  artist.5  As  much  as  possible  the  artist  should 
avoid  all  direct  imitation  of  the  Southerners,6  yet  Ling  himself 
borrows  suggestions  from  Greek  masters.7  He  recognizes  that 

!P.  331.  3  Pp.  324-25. 

2  P.  326.  4  Pp.  441-74,  inclusive. 

s  Cf.  p.  457,  suggestions  relating  to  the  goddess  Sif.  Also  p.  450,  relat- 
ing to  Brage,  and  p.  459,  to  Freja. 

e  P.  458. 

7  Cf.  p.  457,  where  Ling  suggests  a  definite  style  of  hair  for  each  of  the 
goddesses,  "as  the  former  Greek  masters  had  adopted  for  the  Greek 
divinities." 


107 

the  problems  confronting  the  painter  and  the  sculptor  are  dif- 
ferent; a  fish-net  as  an  attribute  of  Ran  can  easily  be  repre- 
sented by  the  former  but  hardly  by  the  latter.1  Ling  admits 
than  an  eight-legged  horse  like  Odin's  Sleipner  can  "  scarcely  " 
be  represented  as  standing  by  the  side  of  Hermod.2  It  must  be 
admitted  that  Ling  shows  a  decided  preference  for  Norse  my- 
thology, even  if  he  never  intended  to  drive  out  other  poetic  sys- 
tems.3 Our  Scandinavian  ancestors,  according  to  Ling,  had  a 
"  positive  "  and  "  pure  "  feeling  for  the  beautiful.  Not  in  one 
single  instance  (i.  e.  as  evidenced  in  the  sources)  did  they  for- 
get the  laws  of  beauty.  "  Their  divinities  are  all  represented 
according  to  the  most  perfect  form,  i.  e.,  the  human  form;  they 
have  never,  like  the  Egyptians,  Hindus,  Chinese,  or  even  the 
Greeks  in  the  beginning,  represented  their  gods  in  the  shape  of 
multiplex  beasts,  with  manifold  arms,  heads,  eyes,  etc.;  and 
they  have  never  even  permitted  themselves  to  represent  the  god 
of  evil,  Loke,  in  any  more  horrible  manner  than  the  other  gods 
or  goddesses."4  Only  that  which  belonged  exclusively  to  the 
lower  world,  such  as  the  children  of  Loke,  was  represented  as 
horrible,  and  its  giants  and  trolls  were  made  monstrous,  because 
they  belonged  to  "  formless  nature."  The  highest  god  or  All- 
father  was  never  conceived  by  "  our  ancestors  "  in  sensual  form 
and,  therefore,  "  cannot  be  represented  by  the  artist  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Eddaic  nature-divinities.5 

A  couple  of  concrete  examples  from  the  supplement  will 
illustrate  Ling's  suggestions  for  painters  and  sculptors.  Brage, 
the  god  of  mead  and  poetry,  should  be  a  "  middle-aged  man  with 
long  beard ;  for  he  is  called  '  the  long-beard.' "  "  His  face 
should  express  wisdom  and  feeling,  but  not  bravery  or  courage. 
Let  his  mouth  be  ready  to  speak."  He  possessed  a  horse  and  a 
sword,  but  it  is  desirable  that  his  sword  (the  symbol  of  satire) 

ip.  461. 

»P.4S*. 

3  Lydia  Wahlstrom  in  "  Den  svenska  odlingens  storman,"  V,  p.  80,  calls 
Ling's   preference   for   Norse  myths  "tremendous"    (ofantlig),   and   bases 
her  claim  on  Ling's  comparative  estimates  of  the  Greek  and  Norse  myths, 
as  viewed  from  an  ethical  and  religious  standpoint. 

4  Ling :  Samlade  arbeten,  II,  pp.  443-44. 
s  Cf.  p.  446. 


108 

be  placed  at  his  feet.  In  one  hand  he  should  hold  the  Brage- 
cup  and  rest  the  other  on  his  harp,  "  which  should  be  larger 
than  the  one  given  Apollo,  and  not  constructed  in  the  same  way." 
"  From  the  sagas  we  know  that  these  instruments  were  so  large 
that  even  children  could  be  concealed  in  them."  This  form, 
too,  could  hardly  be  suitable  for  Brage  and  the  artist  himself 
should  select  a  suitable  one.  Brage  should  be  draped,  but  with- 
out a  helmet.1  "  Nanna,  the  wife  of  Balder,  ought  to  be  rep- 
resented as  clothed.  The  left  breast  ought  to  be  more  exposed 
perhaps,  and  maybe  her  hand  placed  over  it,  provided  this  does 
not  give  her  a  super-theatrical  aspect.  The  myth  says:  'her 
heart  broke/  I  presume  that  the  artist  ought  to  direct  his  at- 
tention to  her  as  the  goddess  of  tender  affection  (Omhetens 
gudinna).  Her  face  should  be  young,  beautiful,  but  suffering; 
and  her  mouth  as  if  smiling  beneath  her  pain.  About  her  waist 
she  should  have  the  girdle  which  was  burned  with  her ;  and  on 
her  finger  the  golden  ornament  which  she  sent  to  Frigga  from 
Hel."2 

The  lectures  by  Ling  had  an  immediate  and  "particularly 
encouraging"  result,  the  more  so  because  the  lecturer  associ- 
ated with  several  young  artists,  some  of  whom  lived  in  the  same 
house  that  sheltered  his  gymnastic  institute.3  Of  these  Bengt 
Erland  Fogelberg,  the  sculptor,  was  an  actual  pupil  of  Ling4 
and  was  directly  influenced  by  him.  In  the  spring  of  1817  an 
anonymous  donor  (now  known  to  be  the  envoye  Baron  G.  U. 
Silfverhjelm),  an  attendant  upon  Ling's  lectures,  gave  the  sum 
of  50  ducats  to  the  Gothic  Society  as  prize  for  either  a  Swed- 
ish or  Norwegian  artist  who  should  draw  and  develop  some 
motif  from  Norse  mythology,  either  in  architecture,  sculpture, 
design,  or  painting.  This  offer  was  discussed  by  the  Society 
on  the  roth  of  June,  1817,  and  competitors  for  this  prize  were 
advised  by  the  Society  to  study  the  Eddas  diligently,  both  the 
poetic  and  prose  Eddas,  as  being  "  the  richest  and  most  reliable 

1  Cf.  p.  450,  for  Brage. 

2  P.  456. 

3  Cf.  Wahlstrom  :  Den  svenska  odlingens  storman,  V,  p.  83.     Westerblad 
(Ling,  p.  82)   mentions   Fogelberg,   Sandberg,  and  Wahlbom  who  lived  in 
the  same  house  that  sheltered  the  Institute. 

*Cf.  Hjarne:  Gotiska  forbundet,  p.  55. 


109 

source  of  information  about  the  Norse  myths."1  Prespective 
competitors  were  recommended  also  to  study  Ling's  "  Gylfe  " 
and  "  The  Asas  "2  for  inspiration  and  ideas.3  Themes  were 
suggested  by  the  Society  for  various  branches  of  art,  viz. :  for 
plastic  art:  the  supreme  Odin  on  his  throne  Lidskalf  looking 
down  upon  the  world  and  seeing  all  that  takes  place ;  or  Thor 
riding  in  his  chariot,  fighting  the  giants.  Someone  suggested 
as  a  theme  for  architecture,  Valhalla,  the  dwelling  place  of  Odin 
and  the  heroes  fallen  in  battle.  As  Ling  had  advocated  in  his 
supplement,  the  artists  were  allowed  a  great  deal  of  freedom, 
for,  above  all,  independence  was  desired.  The  announcement 
of  this  competition  was  printed  in  Inrikes  Tidningar,  June  18, 
iSi/,4  and  several  candidates  responded,5  among  them  Fogel- 
berg.  According  to  contemporary  evidence,  Hjalmar  Morner, 
who  had  just  been  reading  Ling's  poetry,  was  called  upon  to  deco- 
rate the  salon  of  one  Rosendal,  and  chose  to  picture  the  entry  of 
Odin  and  his  Asas  into  Scandinavia.6  As  late  as  1850,  when 
Bernh.  von  Beskow,  himself  a  former  student  of  painting,  wrote 
his  biography  of  Ling,  artists,  in  response  to  a  demand  for  com- 
petitive work  from  "  Gothic  "  mythology,  "  probably,"  received 
more  ideas  from  the  poetry  of  the  Asa-bard  than  from  any  other 
poet.  Because  no  one  portrayed  "these  antique  images  so 

ilbid.,  pp.  ssff. 

2  In  the  edition  of  1814,  the  political  allegory  "Gylfe"  in  Norse  dress 
contained  fifteen  songs.     It  will  be  remembered  that  eight  songs  of  "The 
Asas"  had  appeared  in  1816.     Cf.  above,  p.  99;  also  note  2,  p.  104. 

3  Cf.  Hjarne,  Gotiska  forbundet,  p.  149. 

4  Printed  in  Hjarne :  Gotiska  forbundet,  pp.  146-49. 
s  Cf.  Wahlstrom :  Ling,  p.  83. 

6  Berh.  v.  Beskow :  Life  of  Ling  in  Vol.  I  of  Ling's  Samlade  arbeten, 
dated  in  Stockholm,  April  22,  1859.  Cf.  p.  xxiv.  Beskow  on  this  page 
mentions  the  names  of  several  artists  who  were  influenced  by  Ling. 
Beskow  was  21  years  old  in  1817  and  was  wide-awake  to  all  contemporary 
affairs.  Cf.  note  on  Beskow  in  Appendix.  Hj.  Morner  was  admitted  into 
the  Gothic  Society  February  16,  1829,  and  instead  of  "  within  three  months  " 
giving  a  speech  on  his  Gothic  namesake,  as  others  were  supposed  to  do, 
he  submitted  eleven  sketches  representing  myths  about  Odin,  and  about 
the  coming  and  settling  of  the  Asas  in  Sweden.  Cf.  Hjarne :  Gotiska 
forbundet,  p.  18.  Nicander  says  of  Hjalmar  Morner: 

"  Din  samtid  kunde  ej  Ditt  snille  krona  .  .  . 

Hvad  gor  det  ?     Konstens  mal  du  hunnit  bar ;  " 
Cf.  Nicander:  Samlade  arbeten,  Tredje  upplagan.     Forra  delen,  p.  479. 


110 

completely,  with  such  true  conviction,  and  such  pious  childlike 
faith  as  he."1 

But  Ling's  offensive  and  defensive  tributes  to  the  newly  re- 
vived divinities  did  not  meet  with  the  same  approval  every- 
where; in  fact,  the  general  attitude  was  probably  against  him. 
His  efforts  met  with  an  enthusiastic  welcome  by  the  new 
"Society  for  the  Study  of  Art"  (Sallskap  for  konststudium) 
which  took  up  the  cause  of  Gothism  as  against  classicism.  But 
the  Praeses  of  the  old  "Academy  of  Free  Arts"  (Fria  Kon- 
sternas  Akademi)  had  publicly  condemned  the  new  subjects  in 
the  province  of  art  as  being  "coarse  "and  "monstrous  products 
of  the  most  ancient  northern  peoples'  imagination."  Only 
those  who  attended  Ling's  lectures  really  knew  their  sensible 
contents,  for  they  did  not  appear  in  print  until  two  years 
later.  Others  judged  Ling  entirely  by  his  poetic  creations, 
which  showed  a  marked  tendency  to  exaggeration.  Conse- 
quently, there  arose  a  feeling  of  apprehension,  lest  the  influence 
of  the  dangerous  Goth  might  fill  the  Swedish  studios  with 
Norse  monstrosities.  The  classicists  were  reminded  with  hor- 
ror of  the  Rudbeckian  age  when  Scandinavian  antiquity  became 
the  object  of  ridicule,  and  before  the  decade  was  over  it  be- 
came, for  the  second  time,  the  target  for  warning  and  satire. 
What  was  the  character  of  these  warnings  and  satires? 

On  November  8,  1817,  there  appeared  in  Linkopingsbladet 
a  rather  harmless  but  witty  and  amusing  parody2  on  the  an- 
nouncement for  the  Norse  prize  competition.  Here  is  an 
example  from  a  suggestion  for  architecture:  The  Dwelling  of 
the  Blessed  with  Odin  in  Valhalla: 

"In  Odin's  chamber  there  must  be  his  throne,  benches  around 
the  walls  for  the  Blessed,  the  fire-place  in  the  middle  of  the  room, 
and  nearby  a  place  where  the  Blessed  at  meals  may  cast  the  bones 
after  they  have  gnawed  off  the  meat.  Outhouses  and  especially 
larders  and  cellars,  must  be  large  enough  and  the  ale-brewery 
spacious.  A  place  must  be  marked  out  where  the  heroes  may 
exercise/'3 

1  Cf.  Beskow :  Life  of  Ling,  as  above,  p.  xxiv. 

2  Printed  in  Hjarne :  Gotiska  forbundet,  pp.  149-52. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  149—50. 


Ill 

The  parody  suggests  as  a  theme  for  sculptors :  Ragnar  Lodbrok 
in  the  serpents'  den,1  and  contains  an  extremely  clever  and 
effectively  developed  comparison  with  the  famous  Laocoon- 
group.  The  comparative  method,  then,  had  even  crept  into  the 
field  of  ridicule,  a  method  which  was  adopted  later  in  the  more 
biting  and  triumphant  satire  of  the  Academician  Journal. 

An  interesting  and  important  phase  of  the  outsider's  concep- 
tion of  the  New  School  is  brought  out  in  one  part  of  this 
parody.  It  shows  that  the  characteristics  of  both  the  new 
tendencies  were  considered  present,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
in  one  of  these  literary  factions;  that  is,  that  the  difference 
between  a  Goth  and  a  Fosforist  was  merely  relative.  This 
parody,  directed  primarily  against  the  Goths,  becomes  a  satire 
on  the  whole  Romantic  group,  and  especially  on  that  phase  of 
it  which  is  attributed  to  the  Fosforists.  The  part  referred  to 
is  a  satire  on  a  so-called  "  historical  painting."2  The  title  and 
introduction  may  remind  the  reader  of  Franz  Sternbald  repro- 
ducing music  on  his  canvas  : 

St.  David  hangs  his  mittens  on  the  sunbeams.  "  Painting  as 
an  art  has  its  origin  in  Christianity;  it  is  at  the  same  time  a 
Romantic  art.  Therefore  the  theme  for  its  exposition  may  not  be 
taken  from  ordinary  life.  The  world  of  heroes  is  not  musical 
enough  for  it;  its  subjects  are  to  be  sought  where  a  pious  faith 
elevates  the  observer  from  the  world  of  reality  to  the  world  of 
imagination  and  ravishingly  snatches  him  from  the  insipidly  pos- 
sible to  the  forboded  supernatural." 

then  follows  a  witty  attack  on  Fosforistic  pot-pourris  of  color, 
mysticism,  harmony,  "  innerlighet,"  obscurity  in  style  and  lan- 
guage, and  all  intended  for  the  Goths. 

In  connection  with  the  problem  of  art  and  parodies  or  satires 
on  the  same,  we  are  able  to  corroborate  a  conclusion  in  Chapter 
I,  that  the  Fosforists  had  distinct  Gothic  tendencies.  One 
proof  of  this  is  Vitalis's  ridicule  of  the  Fosforists,  in  the  third 
decade,  which  includes  some  pleasant  and  inoffensive  but  keen 
satire  on  their  fondness  for  Norse  antiquity.  It  is  a  parallel 

i  It  will  be  remembered  that  Ragnar  Lodbrok  was  put  to  death  by  vipers 
while  on  an  expedition  to  Northumberland,  England,  about  794. 
2Hjarne:  Gotiska  forbundet,  pp.  150-51. 


112 

of  the  case  presented  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  but  in  this 
instance  the  target  is  Fosforism,  and  Gothism  is  included  in  it. 
Vitalis's  humorous  polemic  against  the  New  School  was  called 
"  The  Fosforists  in  Olympia."  It  was  never  completed  and  is 
now  lost.  The  fragment,  however,  was  finally  published  in 
Ostgota  Correspondent  en,  for  1839,  by  Henrik  Palmaer,  who 
knew  Vitalis's  plans.  For  our  account  we  are  indebted  to  For- 
selius,1  a  friend  of  Atterbom  and  Palmblad.  It  appears  that 
the  original  plan  was  in  dramatic  form  and  was  to  contain  15 
acts,  for  "all  the  foolishness  of  the  Fosforists  could  not  be 
included  in  5  acts."  In  the  second  act  Queen  Edda  appears. 
"The  magic  Brynhild  form"  aspires  to  Amadis's  (Atterbom's) 
love,  but  Eos-Sophia  (German  philosophy)  comes  forth,  shows 
a  copy  of  Fosforos,  and  pretends  that  she  alone  has  the  legiti- 
mate claim  to  this  honor.2  A  mortal  combat  ensues  between 
the  two  goddesses.  Eos-Sophia  is  pierced  by  the  lance  of 
Edda,  but  the  latter  is  also  wounded  and  dies,  being  afterward 
christened  in  a  wept  sonnet.  In  the  fifth  act  Bacchus  and 
Apollo  are  conversing  on  the  walls  of  Olympus.  Bacchus 
asks :  "  What  sort  of  gnats  are  those  I  see  coming? "  "  Those 
are  not  gnats,"  answers  Apollo,  "those  are  Fosforists,"  and 
interprets  the  assumed  humming  of  the  gnats  to  be  the  singing 
of  the  Fosforists.  As  the  latter  approach  a  few  words  can  be 
distinguished  such  as  "  ancient  groves,"  "  viking-seats,"  etc. 

Even  in  his  poetry  Vitalis  liked  to  poke  fun  at  the  characters 
in  Norse  mythology  and  those  interested  in  the  viking  age.  In 
his  collected  works  we  find  two  poems  in  rimed  couplets, 
dated  1824,  called  "The  Rune  Frey  "  and  "The  Rune  Naud," 
respectively,3  their  titles  being  intended  to  ridicule  Nicander's 
plan  of  publishing  an  edition  de  luxe  of  his  cycle  of  poems 

1  See  Forselius :  Introduction  to  Vitalis's  Samlade  skrifter.     Stockholm, 
1873,  pp.  liiff. 

2  It  may  be  Vitalis's  opinion  that  Atterbom's  fondness  for  Norse  an- 
tiquity was  merely  a  predilection  d'artiste,  and  we  have  to  admit,  of  course, 
that  German  models  were  uppermost  in   his  mind,  yet  Vitalis's  proposed 
comedy  presupposes  some  sort  of  an  interest  in  the  Norse  myths. 

3  Runan  Frey.     Fornforskaren.     Printed  in  Samlade  skrifter,  pp.  23 iff. 
Runan  Naud.     Nordens  gudar.     Printed  in  Samlade  skrifter,  pp. 


113 

called  "The  Runes."1  "The  Rune  Frey"  had  a  sub-title, 
"The  Antiquarian"  (p.  112,  note  3),  and  satirized  the  Gothic 
tendencies  to  dig  into  every  mound  or  "  mole-hill,"  and  then  if 
you  found  anything  to  describe  your  discovery  in  Iduna.  The 
antiquarian  in  this  poem  sees  a  number  of  stones  standing  in  a 
row;  to  him  they  immediately  become  remnants  of  ancient 
viking  judgment-seats  (domarestenar) ;  a  hoary  man  with 
"silvery  hair"  appears  who  represents  the  spirit  of  bygone 
days  and  is  questioned  boldly  and  solemnly  concerning  these 
stones.  The  expectant  interlocutor  gets  the  following  prosaic 
reply  from  the  old  man : 

Min  gunstige  herre ! 

Pa  denna  plats,  i  min  ungdoms  dar, 

En  liten  badstuga  uppbygd  var.2 

Although  "  The  Rune  Naud,"  per  se,  has  no  more  connection 
with  art  than  "  The  Rune  Frey,"  the  contents  do  strike  nearer 
home  and  are  aimed  directly  at  the  old  Norse  gods  and  their 
introduction  into  poetry.  Incidentally,  Vitalis  himself  betrays 
at  least  a  superficial  knowledge  of  the  mythology  he  attempts 
to  ridicule,  even  if  he  proudly  confesses  ignorance  about  some 
of  the  minor  divinities.3  Vitalis  amuses  himself  in  this  poem 
— and  others  as  well — by  comparing  his  own  private  affairs  to 
those  of  the  Scandinavian  gods.  Brage  had  a  wife,  but  he 
(Vitalis)  has  none;  yet  he  is  glad  that  he  has  no  gold  in  his 
mouth  like  Heimdall,  for  then  his  creditors  would  come  with  a 

1  Nicander  wrote  a  series  of  sixteen  poems  of  a  national  character  and 
at  the  head  of  each  poem  he  had  some  rune  inscribed.     He  planned  a  vain 
edition  of  his  "  Runes  "  in  his  own  handwriting  with  a  picture  of  himself 
in  student's  uniform  inserted  under  the  rune  "  Naud,"  which  has  as  title 
"Norna-Gest  as  Youth"  (Norna-Gest  Som  Yngling).     Cf.  Nicander:  Sam- 
lade  arbeten,   Stockholm,   1862,  Vol.  I,  p.  212.     Vitalis,  who  believed  his 
friend  had  "lost  his  mind,"  writes  April  3,  1824,  that  if  Nicander's  book 
appeared  he  would  write  and  inscribe  sixteen  runes  with  sixteen  carica- 
tures,  including  his   own  portrait   as   "youth   with   night-cap   and   poetic 
coat."     See  Introduction  to  Vitalis's  works  by  Forselius,  pp.  xliiff.     Nican- 
der's edition  of  1825,  though  an  edition  de  luxe,  did  not  have  the  author's 
picture  and  Vitalis's  plan  also  stranded.     The  only  "  runes  "  he  inscribed 
were  the  two  mentioned  above.     Cf.  Chap.  V. 

2  "  My  dear  sir,  upon  this  spot,  in  my  younger  days,  there  used  to  stand 
a  little  bath-house." 

3  As  for  example:  Ali,  Voli,  Uller,  or  Forsete. 


114 

surgeon  and  tear  them  out.  The  exact  nature  of  Vitalis's  light 
satire  on  the  Norse  gods  is  best  illustrated  by  examples.  I 
have  selected  the  first,  second,  and  seventh  stanzas. 

I  fall  det  roar  edar,  ja  och  i  annat  fall, 

Jag  alia  gamla  Asar  for  er  upprakna  skall. 

De  upp  ur  grafven  komma,  med  buller  och  med  bang, 

Allt  for  att  figurera  uti  de  Goters  sang. 

Bland  dem  ar  Oden  ypperst;  han  blott  ett  oga  bar; 
Pa  kallarn  Urdarbrunnen  det  andra  pantsatt  ar. 
Slarfaktig  i  affarer  ar  visst  den  Ase  bald, 
Han  el  jest  langt  for  detta  lost  det  ur  Mimers  vald. 

Och  blastens  gud  ar  Niord,  som  skjildes  vid  sin  fru, 
Kanske  han  annu  lefver;  nog  blaser  det  annu, 
Den  guden  hade  fotter  sa,  vackra  och  sa  sma. 
Hur  han  sag  ut  i  synen,  har  jag  ej  reda  pa.1 

1 "  In  case  it  amuses  you,  yes,  even  if  it  does  not,  I  shall  enumerate  all 
the  Asas  for  you.  They  come  up  out  of  their  graves  with  noise  and  bluster, 
just  to  figure  in  the  songs  of  the  Goths."  "  Among  them  Odin  is  the  most 
important ;  he  possesses  only  one  eye :  the  other  one  is  pawned  in  the 
tavern  Urdarbrunnen  (the  fountain  of  time).  The  bold  Asa  must  be  care- 
less in  business  otherwise  he  would  have  redeemed  it  long  ago  from  the 
power  of  Mimer."  "And  the  god  of  wind  is  Niord  who  was  separated 
from  his  wife.  Perhaps  he  is  still  alive;  certainly  it  still  blows.  That  god 
had  such  small  and  pretty  feet.  How  he  looked  in  the  face,  I  don't  know." 
Another  author,  less  important  for  our 'purpose,  touched  on  the  Gothic 
tendency  in  a  light,  humorous  vein.  C.  F.  Dahlgren  (cf.  Appendix,  art. 
Dahlgren)  recognized  the  saga  element  as  an  Old  Norse  part  of  the  Fos- 
foristic  program,  and  his  "  The  Last  Fosforist "  (see  Samlade  arbeten, 
Stockholm,  1847-52,  Vol.  I,  pp.  i42ff.)  contains  some  harmless  references 
to  mythologies  in  general  as  well  as  to  Icelandic  literature  in  particular. 
For  instance,  the  Fosforist's  coat  in  this  poem  is  "  stitched  together  of  a 
thousand  pieces  from  India,  Iceland,  Rome,  and  Greece."  One  stanza  runs 
as  follows : 

Nu  ar  att  saga  An  Bacchus  an  Brage 

Om  mythologi'n  An  Zeus  och  an  Thor 

Att  den  bor  man  aga  An  Phoibus,  an  Frode 

I  poesi'n  An  Balder  hin  gode 

Och  omsom  man  tage  Och  an  hans  bror. 

"  now  there  is  this  to  be  said  about  mythology,  that  one  ought  to  use  it  in 
poetry.  And  you  may  take,  alternately;  now  Bacchus,  now  Brage;  now 
Zeus,  now  Thor,  now  Phoebus,  now  Frode ;  now  Balder  the  Good,  and  now 
his  Brother." 


115 

The  best  satire  directed  against  the  Norse  myths  was  a  long 
poem  by  J.  M.  Stjernstolpe,  which  appeared  in  Allmdnna  Jour- 
nalen  in  I82O.1  It  was  called  "The  Mythologies,  or  the  Dis- 
pute of  the  Gods"  ( My tologierna  eller  gudatvisten)  and  deals, 
in  a  comparative  way,  with  the  assumed  characteristics  of  both 
the  Northern  and  Southern  systems.  Naturally,  the  Greek 
mythology  is  taken  as  the  esthetic  standard.  The  plan  is  in- 
genious and  the  contents  are  positively  funny.  The  gods  of 
Valhalla  are  sent  on  a  visit  to  the  Olympian  deities  and  held  up 
to  scorn  and  derision.  Iceland  is  taken  as  the  home  of  the 
Scandinavian  visitors,  who  appear  on  Mt.  Olympus  in  all  their 
primitive  grotesqueness,  accompanied  by  a  full  zoological  reti- 
nue of  cats,  ravens,  goats  and  serpents.2  On  the  arrival  of 
the  strangers  a  great  commotion  arises  in  Olympic  circles  and 
the  goddesses,  especially,  suffer  immense  physical  discomfort.3 
Were  Odin  and  his  Asas  to  dethrone  Zeus?  Iceland  is  larger 
than  your  famous  Crete,  says  Momus  to  Zeus.4  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  chronological  priority  is  claimed  for  the  classic 
myths  and  Zeus  admonishes  the  strangers  as  follows : 

1  Numbers  31  and  32  for  the  8th  and  9th  of  February.     Remember  that 
the  editor  of  Allmdnna  Journalen  was  P.  A.  Wallmark,  the  publicist,  par 
excellence,  of  the  Old  School.     As  early  as  August  18,  1813  (No.  56)  there 
had  appeared  in  Allmdnna  Journalen  a  "  slightly  altered  "  version  of  the 
ancient  saga  of  "  Orwar  Odder,"  to  show  the  "  dangers  of  flight "  and  the 
advantages  of  courage  and  bravery.     It  can  hardly  be  anything  but  a  thrust 
at  the  Goths  and  Fosforists.     The  first  verse  runs  as  follows : 

*'  En  hjalte  det  fanns  har  i  Norden  en  gang, 
Den  storste,  som  nansin  beskrifvits  i  sang, 

Tolf  alnar  lang, 
Och  Orwar  Odder  ban  hetat. 
Som  Viking  han  farit  all  verlden  omkring 
Och  honom  det  timat  mang  underlig  ting, 
Som  annu  blott  Sagorna  vetat." 

Orwar  Odd  is  finally  killed  in  "  flight "  by  an  arrow. 

2  It  will  be  remembered  that  cats,  ravens,  and  he-goats  were  the  animals 
attributed  of  Freya,  Odin,  and  Thor,  respectively.     The  serpent  refers  to 
the  so-called  Midgard-Serpent,  son  of  Loke  and  Angerboda,  a  brother  of 
Hel  and  the  Fenris-Wolf.     With  his  enormous  tail  he  encircles  the  whole 
earth. 

3  Venus   is   thrown   into    convulsions   at   the   venomous   glance   of   the 
Midgard-Serpent  and  Juno  gets  the  stomach-ache.     Cf.   Hjarne:    Gotiska 
forbundet,  p.  159. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  153. 


116 

Dock  Asar  bora  veta : 
Langt  forr  an  nagon  af  Er  var, 
Min  blixt  kring  himlen  ljungat  bar, 
Mitt  namn  kring  verlden  spordes.1 

For  about  four  months  Stjernstolpe  enjoyed  a  certain  feeling 
of  victory  at  the  success  of  his  poem,  but,  on  June  21,  1820, 
there  appeared  an  answer  in Anmarkarne, called  "The  Mythol- 
ogies, or  the  Dispute  of  the  Gods.  The  Second  Day/'2  The 
author  was  a  "  young  "  man,  but  otherwise  a  complete  stranger, 
says  Adlerbeth.3  His  poem  was  a  "worthy  refutation"  of 
Stjernstolpe's  anti-Gothic  satire.  In  fact,  Adlerbeth  goes  so 
far  as  to  claim  a  defeat  for  the  gods  of  Greece  and  Rome  as 
well.  "  The  real  value  of  the  poem,"  asserts  Adlerbeth,  "  lies 
in  the  fact  that  the  riders  on  the  wooden  beasts  (tramarrar) 
of  French  literature  have  been  defeated  by  their  own  weapon, 
ridicule.  The  latter  was  the  last  available  implement  for  at- 
tacking the  ancient  Norse  myths  which  they  (the  worshipers 
of  French  literature)  were  unable  to  destroy  by  any  serious 
deductions."  And  I  believe  Adlerbeth  to  have  been  right. 
The  stranger  poet  had  detected  a  fundamental  difference  in  the 
two  mythologies  which  Stjernstolpe  either  overlooked  or  ig- 
nored. Stjernstolpe  had  unfairly  compared  the  crude  but  nat- 
ural Scandinavian  gods  with  the  idealized  Greek  deities  repre- 
sented in  modern  art  and  poetry.  In  the  public  refutation, 
therefore,  the  Olympic  gods  are  stripped  of  their  artistic  embel- 
lishments, introduced  in  their  most  primitive  form  and  dress, 
and  sent  on  a  return  visit  to  the  earth.  Mercury  suggests  that 
they  take  this  trip  in  their  original, "  genuinely  divine  splendor."4 
As  soon  as  unmasked,  the  Greek  travelers  present  a  sad  spec- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  162.     "  But  Asas  ought  to  know  that  long  before  any  of  you 
existed,  my  lightning  flashed  through  the  sky,  my  name  was  known  around 
the  world." 

2  Mytologierna,    eller   gudatvisten.     Andra   dagen.     Both    Stjernstolpe's 
poem  as  well  as  the  answer  to  it  are  printed  in  Hjarne :  Gotiska  forbundet, 
pp.   152-83,  accompanied  by  explanatory  notes.     Hjarne's  reprint  is  more 
easily  available  to  most  students  and  my  references  are,  therefore,  to  this 
edition. 

3  See  letter  to  Tegner,  dated  July   14,   1820.     Esaias  Tegner's  papper, 
PP.  130-31. 

*  Hjarne:  Gotiska  forbundet,  p.  170. 


117 

tacle,  indeed.  The  Norse  visitors  at  Olympia  were  natural, 
though  grotesque ;  but  the  Olympians  become  unnatural,  form- 
less monsters,  and  Jupiter  (or  Zeus,  for  the  Greek  and  Roman 
names  are  used  interchangeably)  appears  with  hawk's  head  and 
horns.1  Then  the  anonymous  poet  adopts  a  more  specifically 
comparative  method  and  makes  such  observations  as  these: 
Norse  mythology  has  no  character  with  ram's  legs  like  Pan  or 
Silenus ;  it  has  no  one  who  is  lame  like  Vulcan,  and  no  maiden 
with  a  hundred  breasts  like  the  Ephesian  Diana.  "Awful 
stories  "  are  found  in  each  and  every  Greek  god's  biography, 
intrigues  are  frequent,  and  but  few  are  of  legitimate  birth.2 
The  Olympian  group  gets  no  further  than  Eleusis  before  they 
encounter  an  enormous  herd  of  pigs.  The  ass,  who  under- 
stands them  without  an  interpreter,  leads  the  conversation  for 
the  Olympians  and  immediately  thereafter  Jupiter  and  his  reti- 
nue return  home  disgusted.3 

As  early  as  1810-1811 — the  date  can  be  determined  approxi- 
mately by  references  to  European  politics — the  Academician 
chief,  Leopold,  attacked  in  a  poem  that  national  tendency  which, 
as  even  the  anti-Fosforistic  Malmstrom  admits,4  was  common 
to  both  Fosforists  and  Goths.  Leopold's  satirical  poem,  of 
some  historical  significance  and  full  of  sparkling  wit,  was  called 
"The  New  Colony,  or  the  Revolution  in  the  Art  of  Song" 
(Den  nya  kolonien  eller  revolutionen  i  sangkonsten),5  and  was 
directed  against  the  current  eulogies  of  a  former  "golden"6 

iThe  old  images  of  Jupiter  were  sometimes  represented  like  those  of 
the  Egyptian  Osiris,  his  son,  with  a  hawk-like  head,  or  like  Ammon,  who 
appeared  to  Hercules  in  the  form  of  a  ram.  Cf .  Lempriere :  Classical  Dic- 
tionary, articles  Osiris  and  Ammon. 

2Hjarne:  Gotiska  forbundet,  p.  175. 

3  Eleusis  had  a  temple  to  Ceres,  and  sows  were  beasts  of  sacrifice  "  at 
the  lesser  mysteries."  According  to  one  tradition  (Hyginus:  Poet.  Astron., 
ii,  23)  a  speaking  ass  is  mentioned  in  the  myth  of  Dyonysus.  Dyonysus 
was  carried  across  a  lake  by  an  ass  on  his  way  to  the  oracle  of  Dodona. 
Cf.  Diet,  of  Greek  and  Roman  Biography  and  Mythology,  edited  by  W. 
Smith,  London,  1844,  Vol.  I,  p.  1047. 

^Grunddragen  af  svenska  vitterhetens  historia,  III,  p.  263.  Accord- 
ing to  the  poem  in  question,  the  national  tendency  of  the  Fosforists  must 
have  been  detected  by  Leopold  before  the  Gothic  School  existed,  as  such. 

5  See  Leopold:  Poetiska  arbeten,  Uppsala,  1873,  Vol.  I,  p.  83,  or  Malm- 
Strom  :  Svenska  vitterhetens  historia,  III,  pp.  263ff.,  where  the  whole  poem 
is  quoted. 

6  Malmstrom :  ibid.,  p.  265. 
9 


118 

age.  The  poem  describes  the  arrangement  of  a  Sangerkrieg 
between  the  nightingale  (the  Old  School)  and  the  recently 
arrived  owl  (the  New  School).  "It  is  about  time,"  says  Leo- 
pold sharply  and  sarcastically,  "  to  reinstate,  at  last,  the  song  of 
genuine  power,  which  as  early  as  a  thousand  years  ago,  was 
sung  by  the  owls  on  the  mountains  of  Norway."1  In  the  con- 
test nobody  would  listen  to  the  nightingale  and  the  owl  wins, 
cheered  by  the  whole  owl-nation,  three  hundred  voices  strong. 
But  every  mortal  is  frightened  away,  the  nightingales  resign, 
and,  finally,  the  owls  themselves  are  gradually  driven  off.2  But 
Leopold's  theoretical  views  on  the  employment  of  Norse  my- 
thology in  poetry  are  stated  more  definitely  and  severely  in  his 
prose  treatise  on  "  Ancient  Gothic  Poetry  and  the  New  Taste 
for  this  Kind  of  Literature"  (Om  den  gamla  gotiska  dikten 
och  den  nya  smaken  for  detta  slags  vitterhet),  written  about 
1822  or  i823.3  What  the  Gustavian  leader  believed  to  hold 
true  in  poetry  would  naturally  hold  true,  all  the  more,  in  the 
plastic  arts.  On  the  face  of  it,  this  article  might  seem  at  first 
to  be  a  mere  warning  against  exaggeration,  for  Leopold  admits 
that  a  taste  for  Gothic  poetry  may  be  commendable4  and  he 
himself  had  treated  a  Gothic  theme  in  "  Oden,"  but  that  the 
sagas  or  Eddas  could  ever  be  favorably  compared  with  the 
ancient  classical  sources  is  deemed  impossible.  Leopold's  con- 
ception, like  that  of  Stjernstolpe,  is  one  of  prejudice  and  unal- 
loyed preference  for  the  "  thousand  vivid  poetic  images  of  the 
Greek  genius,"5  which  in  his  opinion  have  become  absolutely 
indispensable  to  poetic  expression  in  European  culture.  Norse 
antiquity  to  Leopold  becomes  the  "darkest  and  most  unciv- 
ilized age,"6  its  "  old,  rough-hewn  poetic  figures "  should  be 
kept  at  a  "necessary"  and  appropriate  distance,  i.  e.,  in  the 

1  Malmstrom :  ibid.,  p.  265. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  266-67. 

s  Leopold  in  his  treatise  speaks  of  "twelve  years  of  lessons  in  art," 
using  "art"  in  a  broad  sense  to  signify  the  poetry  of  the  New  School. 
Now,  if  Leopold  refers  to  the  Fosforists,  as  such,  it  would  place  the  date 
about  1822,  if  to  the  Gothic  School,  per  se,  1823.  Cf.  Malmstrom:  Svenska 
vitterhetens  historia,  III,  p.  377,  where  this  part  is  quoted. 

4  Malmstrom.  Svenska  vitterhetens  historia,  III,  p.  376. 

s  Ibid.,  p.  383. 

6  Ibid.,  pp.  377-78. 


119 

"  coarser  and  wilder  culture  of  their  own  age."1  Gothic  an- 
tiquity does  possess  "a  more  uncivilized  sensuality  which  is 
adapted  for  poetic  treatment  by  a  talented  artist,  and  is,  in 
itself,  good  for  a  change  or  contrast";  but  it  ought  not  to  be 
constantly  repeated,  least  of  all  with  the  idea  of  extruding  "  the 
real  literature  of  our  own  age."2  Leopold  makes  an  unquali- 
fied denial  that  Gothic  antiquity  could  serve  as  one  of  the  large, 
important  sources  for  true  poetry.3  A  Norse  motif  has  the 
advantage  of  stimulating  attention,  for  it  is  only  sparsely 
known,  and  Leopold  himself  confesses  he  has  read  the  old 
kampasagas  with  pleasure,4  but  the  literary  form  of  the  manli- 
ness and  power  therein  is  "  undeniably  lower  "  than  that  of  the 
present  age  when  depicted  by  a  master  hand  in  this  "  higher 
splendor."5  That  there  could  be  any  successful  compromise 
of  ancient  Norse  content  with  modern  form  did  not  occur  to 
the  lukewarm,  biased  chief.  He  did  not  see  that  his  main 
source  of  prejudice  was  more  the  lack  of  genius  to  develop  the 
Norse  material,  than  the  material  itself,  and  so  Leopold  was 
constantly  comparing  masters  of  the  Old  School  with  dilettants 
of  the  New.  That  a  constant  use  of  the  Northern  motifs  might 
lead  to  a  "  tedious  uniformity  "6  was  true,  as  had  been  exem- 
plified in  the  poetic  works  of  Ling. 

Malmstrom,  literary  critic  and  partisan  of  Leopold,  takes 
the  same  classical  view ;  he  prefers  Greek  to  Norse  mythology 
and  believes  that  every  impartial  judge  must  give  the  same 
verdict.  "  The  characters  of  Norse  mythology,"  says  Malm- 
strom, "are  with  few  exceptions,  rather  sublime  than  beautiful 
and  consequently  are  not  so  well  adapted  for  plastic  art,  and 
least  of  all  for  sculpture."7  Malmstrom  proceeds  on  the  same 
principle  as  Stjernstolpe  of  comparing  the  highly  idealized 
Greek  forms  with  the  undeveloped  Scandinavian  forms. 

I  have  tried  in  the  last  few  pages  to  illustrate  the  Academi- 
cian or  anti-Romantic  opposition  to  the  introduction  of  Scan- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  384.  4  Ibid.,  p.  385. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  378.  s  Ibid.,  p.  385. 
s  Ibid.,  p.  378.                                              6  Ibid.,  p.  385. 

7  Ibid.,  p.  379.  Malmstrom  did  not  have  the  opportunity  to  see  the 
recently  erected  Gefion-fountain  in  Copenhagen.  Gefion  was  originally,  as 
we  have  seen,  a  mythological  female  character  of  the  Asa-tribe. 


120 

dinavian  myths  into  Swedish  art  and  poetry.     It  now  becomes 
necessary  to  retrace  our  steps  to  the  year  1817. 

The  approaching  prize-competition  with  Norse  motifs,  together 
with  Ling's  lectures  and  poetry,  even  caused  some  concern  to 
a  leader  of  the  Gothic  Society,  Geijer.  Exaggeration  might 
defeat  its  own  purpose,  and  Geijer  decided  to  warn  against  ex- 
travagance. The  result  was  the  publication  in  the  seventh 
number  of  Iduna,  1817,  of  "Reflections  Concerning  the  Em- 
ployment of  the  Norse  Myths  in  Fine  Art"  (Betraktelser  i 
afseende  pa  de  nordiska  myternas  anvandande  i  skon  konst).1 
It  was  a  landmark  of  its  time  and  is  still  well  known  by  stu- 
dents of  Geijer.  It  caused  a  considerable  sensation  and  even 
displeasure  and  was  undoubtedly  responsible  for  Ling's  resig- 
nation from  the  Gothic  Society.2  Geijer's  "  Reflections,"  their 
debt  to  Winckelmann,  Lessing,  and  Herder,  as  well  as  their 
contemporary  influence,  have  recently  been  quite  fully  dis- 
cussed by  Adrian  Molin  in  his  "  Geijer-Studier  "3  and  to  his 
work  I  refer  for  details.  It  is  only  necessary  here  to  indicate 
the  main  thread  of  the  argument  and  to  add  a  few  personal 
observations.  The  whole  attitude  of  the  Swedish  historian  is 
very  classical  in  its  conception  of  art.4  He  holds  that  sculp- 
ture is  the  least  national  of  the  plastic  arts ;  its  aim  is  the  uni- 
versal, and,  therefore,  Norse  mythology  is  little  adapted  for  a 
national  art.  The  emphasis  is  laid  on  physical  definiteness 
(sinnlig  bestamdhet),  and,  since  it  is  a  "thousand  years  too 
late"  to  determine  definite  physical  form,  the  only  solution  is 

1  The  treatise  is  found  in  Geijer's  Samlade  skrifter  (Stockholm,  1874-76, 
8  vols.),  Vol.  I,  pp.  i75ff. 

2  Cf.  letter  from  Adlerbeth  to  Tegner,  dated  January  6,  1818.    Ur  Esaias 
Tegners  papper,  p.  93.     Ling  would  never  admit  that  Geijer's  article  had 
anything  to  do  with  his  resignation.     Adlerbeth,   in  his  letter  to  Tegner, 
favors  Geijer  in  this  matter  and  calls  Ling's  probable  attitude  toward  a 
different  view  "most  unreasonable."     Cf.  also  Molin:   Geijer-Studier,  pp. 
264-65,  and  note  2.     Geijer,  in  his  article,  had  referred,  rather  personally, 
to  blunders  in  Gothic  poetry  which  provoked  some  ill  feeling  in  the  mind 
of  the  super-patriotic  Ling. 

3  Goteborg,  1906,  pp.  244ff. 

*  Cf.  Blanck :  Den  nordiska  renassansen,  p.  432.     Molin,  however,  has 

detected  an  influence  of  Romantic  thought  a  la  Fichte,  as  evidenced  by 

conceptions  of  the  social  and  political  affairs  of  the  time.  See  "  Geijer- 
Studier,"  pp.  256-57. 


121 

to  introduce  the  spirit  (det  ursprungliga)  of  the  ancient  myth 
into  the  recognized  standard  form  already  existing.  But  with 
poetry  and  painting  it  is  different.  Although  Norse  mythology 
is  deficient  in  "  external  harmonious  perfection,"1  it  does  pos- 
sess an  inner  poetic  and  philosophical  meaning  which  furnishes 
a  profitable  field  for  the  poet  or  painter.  The  deities  of  Norse 
mythology  were,  for  the  most  part,  characters  of  action,  definite 
enough  for  our  thought  but  not  for  the  eye,  and  they  must  be 
represented  in  their  living  relation  to  humanity  and  may  not 
be  isolated  from  their  time  or  race.2  Now,  as  characters  of 
action  they  assume  human  form,  such  as  they  have  in  the  sagas, 
and  it  is  primarily  in  connection  with  the  heroic  saga  that  the 
Norse  mythological  characters  may  be  represented  in  art.  If 
the  motifs  are  chosen  from  the  Norse  myths  at  all,  they  had 
better  be  developed  on  canvas  rather  than  in  marble. 

Geijer's  treatise  was  a  well-written  and  conscientious  expo- 
sition of  his  views,  and  it  undoubtedly  had  some  checking  influ- 
ence on  the  overheated  artists  of  a  purely  national  trend. 
Molin  states,  for  instance,  that  the  Gothic  Society  adopted 
some  suggestions  from  it  for  its  announcements  of  future  prize- 
competitions  in  art.3  But  time  proved  that  much  of  Geijer's 
apprehension  was  unfounded.  He  overlooked  the  fact  that  a 
physical  definiteness  was  the  result  of  artistic  activity  and  that, 
other  things  being  equal,  it  was  just  as  possible  for  characters 
from  Norse  myths  to  acquire  a  definite  form  as  for  those  of 
Greek  mythology.  Geijer  commits  much  the  same  fallacy  as 
Stjernstolpe  in  his  "  Dispute  of  the  Gods,"  three  years  later,4 
that  of  comparing  the  developed  with  the  undeveloped.  Molin 

1  Cf.  Molin:  Geijer-Studier,  p.  251. 

2  This  seems  to  me  to  be  closely  analogous  to  Leopold's  views.     Leo- 
pold believed  that  Old  Norse  culture  must  be  considered,  per  se,  as  some- 
thing foreign  and  antiquated.     Any  genuine  representation  of  Gothic  an- 
tiquity, even  in  poetry,  must  be  treated  as  a  picture  of  itself,  that  is,  of 
its  own  time,  and  must  be  considered  too  antiquated  to  re-introduce  in 
any  living  sense.     Granting  their  premises,  and  I  think  we  must,  we  will 
have  to  admit  that  both  Geijer  and  Leopold  are  right  in  this  respect.     Cf. 
Malmstrom :  Svenska  vitterhetens  historia,  III,  p.  378,  where  this  part  of 
Leopold's  article  is  quoted. 

3  Molin:  Geijer-Studier,  p.  266. 
4Cf.  above,  pp.  nsff. 


122 

still  contends  with  Geijer,  however,  that,  so  far  as  sculpture 
is  concerned,  such  a  development  could  only  take  place,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Greek,  "  before  the  myth  became  a  myth,"  that 
is,  while  it  was  still  a  living,  religious  conception  of  the  people.1 
The  creations  of  Fogelberg  seem  to  be  an  exception  to  the  rule, 
according  to  Molin.2  But  the  very  exception  proves  that  such 
a  development  is  possible  when  undertaken  by  a  real  genius. 

Tegner,  it  seems  to  me,  gives  the  best  common-sense  solution 
of  the  problem.3  He  pointed  out  that  originally  the  forms  in 
Greek  mythology  were  as  crude  and  indefinite  as  those  in  ques- 
tion, and  had  they  been  limited  to  mere  poetic  treatment  they 
would  not  have  been  any  more  definite  than  the  Scandinavian 
ones.4  And  not  only  that,  but  where  can  you  draw  the  line  be- 
tween saga  and  myth  ?  There  is  no  sharp  line  of  demarcation, 
and  if  you  concede  that  the  heroic  saga  may  be  employed  in  art, 
how  can  you  consistently  bar  the  myth?  Human  art  has  no 
better  type  for  either  heaven  or  earth  than  the  human  type. 
Divinity  is  merely  an  idealized  human  form,  as  far  as  plastic 
art  is  concerned.  Granting  this,  Geijer's  treatise  loses  some  of 
its  force.  It  was  a  question  that  could  not  be  answered  by  any 
theoretical  or  philosophical  deductions ;  it  was  a  practical  prob- 
lem and  the  sole  method  of  solving  it  was  by  actual  attempt.5 
Tegner  writes  to  Leopold,  February  7,  1822 :6  "  It  is  true  that 
the  so-called  Gothic  poetry  has  up  to  this  time  been  a  failure 
in  Sweden ;  but  if  we,  who  have  failed,  were  only  really  honest, 
we  would  admit  that  Thor,  Odin,  and  Frey  and  all  the  old 
fighters  are  absolutely  innocent  in  the  matter."  In  other 
words,  it  depended  upon  the  poet  or  artist  whether  the  Norse 
myths  could  be  made  worth  while,  a  view  which  Tegner  him- 
self proved  sufficiently,  as  far  as  poetry  was  concerned.  Tegner, 
also,  did  not  like  Geijer's  plain  reference  to  Ling's  poetic  mis- 

1  Molin:  Geijer-Studier,  p.  264. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  266. 

3  Cf.  Geijer-Studier,  p.  264,   for  Molin's  criticism  of  Tegner's  opinion 
in  this  matter. 

*Cf.  letter  by  Tegner  to  Adlerbeth  of  July  5,  1818,  for  criticism  by 
Tegner  of  Geijer's  article.  Jubelfestupplaga,  V,  pp.  i54ff. 

s  Cf.  letter  by  Tegner  to  Adlerbeth  of  December  21,  1817.  Jubelfestup- 
plaga, V,  pp.  1 3 iff. 

6  Jubelfestupplaga,  V,  p.  243. 


123 

takes.  Nobody  was  more  conscious  of  the  mistakes  than  Ling 
himself,  and  one  ought  to  use  some  indulgence  towards  a 
product  (referring  to  "Gylfe")  upon  which  so  much  serious- 
ness, genius,  and  art  had  been  spent.1 

Even  in  plastic  art  there  was  no  such  danger  in  Ling's  preach- 
ings as  was  at  first  supposed.  In  fact,  I  am  unable  to  detect 
any  essential  difference  of  viewpoint,  even  between  Geijer  and 
Ling.  It  was  a  relative  difference  rather  than  a  fundamental 
one,  a  fact  which  is  clearly  brought  out  in  "  Symbolism  of 
the  Eddas  "  which  we  have  already  discussed.2  Like  Tegner, 
Ling  leaves  much  to  the  artist,  and  it  was  never  his  inten- 
tion to  offend  the  sense  of  beauty  by  recommending  indefi- 
nite monsters  to  be  done  in  marble  or  on  canvas.  Fully  recog- 
nizing the  experimental  stage  of  a  national  art,  he  proceeded 
cautiously  to  give  hints  to  prospective  painters  and  sculptors, 
in  order  to  establish  gradually  a  definite  physical  form  for  his 
beloved  Scandinavian  characters.  I  doubt  very  much  whether 
Ling  ever  expected  to  see  a  perfected  Norse  type  immediately. 
He  was  on  the  right  track ;  the  Scandinavian  gods  were  already 
partially  idealized  in  his  mind,  like  the  Greek  gods  in  the  mind 
of  the  Greek  artist,  and  he  never  thought  of  advocating  any- 
thing but  the  perfected  human  form  for  divinities.3  But  the 
human  form  is  the  form  of  the  heroic  saga  as  advocated  by 
Geijer,  so  where  is  the  dangerous  radicalism  or  cause  for 
alarm?  Ling  himself  asserted  that  the  highest  god  or  All- 
father,  who  was  not  conceived  by  our  ancestors  in  sensual,  that 
is,  human  form,  could  not  be  represented  in  plastic  art  like  the 
other  nature-divinities.4 

The  efforts  of  Ling  and  his  disciples  were  crowned  with 
more  practical  success  than  was  ever  anticipated  in  the  first 
public  exhibition  of  the  new  art,  held  in  the  Kirstein  House, 

1  See  letter  by  Tegner  of  July  5,  1818.     (See  p.  122,  note  4). 

2  To  be  sure,  the  "Symbolism"  did  not  appear  in  print  until  1819,  two 
years  after  Geijer's  article,  but  it  was  an  independent  resume  of  Ling's 
own  lectures,  held  from  1814-17,  and  could  never  have  been  influenced  by 
Geijer. 

3  Cf.  Ling:  Samlade  arbeten,  II,  pp.  443-44.     Cf.  also  above,  p.  107. 
*  Ling :  Samlade  arbeten,  II,  p.  446. 


124 

in  Stockholm,  beginning  the  I9th  day  of  May,  iSiS.1  All 
artists  were  invited  to  participate.  Attempts  had  been  made  to 
frustrate  the  plans  for  the  new  exhibition  but  to  no  avail.  The 
catalog  of  one  thousand  copies  went  into  a  new  edition  and  the 
time  of  the  exhibition  was  prolonged  by  request.  The  innova- 
tion was  a  financial  success  also.  Even  royalty  patronized  the 
exhibition  and  His  Majesty  the  King  ordered  Fogelberg's 
models  of  the  Norse  gods  to  be  executed  in  marble  for  himself. 
In  the  "  Addenda,"  in  the  eleventh  number  of  Iduna,2  we  have 
the  names  of  the  winners  and  the  amount  of  the  prizes  in  the 
Norse  art-competitions  from  1818  to  1822,  as  well  as  the  name 
and  character  of  the  artistic  production  in  each  case.  For  in- 
stance: Alex.  Malmquist  is  awarded  a  prize  of  20  ducats  for 
an  oil-painting  of  "  Brage  and  Idun,"  and  P.  Berggren  a  similar 
amount  for  a  representation  of  "  Odin  at  the  Spring  of  Mimer." 
No  one  rejoiced  more  over  the  success  of  the  exhibition  than 
Tegner.  He  writes  to  Adlerbeth,  August  20,  i8i8:3  "It  makes 
me  rejoice  heartily  that  the  Gothic  Society's  exhibition  was 
such  a  success."  He  hopes  it  is  demonstrated  that  the  reawak- 
ened feeling  for  ancient  Norse  is  not  an  insane  idea  or  merely 
a  passing  mania,  "  but  that  it  can  and  ought  to  express  itself  in 
permanent  creations,  either  in  song  or  marble,  and  thus  lay  the 
foundation  for  an  independent,  national  art."4 

i  See  "  Berattelse  angaende  den  af  Gotiska  Forbundet  anstallda  konst- 
expositionen  1818."  In  Iduna,  Vol.  XI,  pp.  Ssff.  Vedel  is  scarcely  correct 
when  he  characterizes  (see  "  Svensk  romantik,"  p.  260)  the  result  of  this 
exposition  as  "  not  gratifying." 

2 "  Tillagg,  rorande  de  af  Gotiska  Forbundet  anstallda  taflingar  i  be- 
handling  af  nordiska  myther  i  bildande  konst,  samt  konstexpositionen 
1818,"  pp.  97-99- 

3  See  Jubelfestupplaga,  V,  p.  160. 

4  Tegner  recognizes,  as  seen  in  this  letter,  that  plastic  art  is  universal 
in   its   essence,   as   Geijer   had   urged,    and   that   European   culture   which 
"  more  or  less  grinds   off  all   nationality "  would  have  to  be  taken  into 
account,   even  if  it  did  not  seriously  hamper  the  development  of  a  na- 
tional art. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ERIK  JOHAN  STAGNELIUS  :  THE  OLD  NORSE  ELEMENT  AS  A 
VEHICLE  FOR  ROMANTICISM 

At  sangen  invigd  re'n  som  barn  jag  var, 
Min  sjal  fortrogen  med  naturens  under. 
I  grottors  skymning,  rosenlundars  skot, 
Der  silfverkallor,  musikaliskt  runno 
Och  naktergalen  omma  toner  gjot, 
Da  etherns  lampor  6'fver  jorden  brunno, 
Bland  vana  trollmor  der,  med  kransadt  har 
Och  kinden  smekt  af  milda  vestanvader, 
Hur  lyckligt  floto  mina  barndomsar ! 

Kwaser  in  "  Gunlog." 

The  most  thorough  Romanticist  in  Sweden  was  the  young 
and  suffering  Stagnelius.  Both  his  life  and  work  point  him  out 
as  the  natural  exponent  of  what  is  deepest  and  most  typical  in 
Romanticism.  He  did  not  have  to  affiliate  himself  with  any 
new  school  to  be  called  Romantic.  He  did  not  have  to  take 
part  in  any  polemics  to  advertise  his  theories.  Stagnelius  was 
something  more  than  an  obscure  theorist;  he  was  primarily  a 
creator.  He  loved  to  produce  and  what  he  produced  came 
spontaneously,  without  undue  effort  or  adherence  to  any  set 
literary  dogma.  He  was  always  independent.  He  educated  him- 
self by  persistent  browsing  in  his  father's  library,  wrote  inde- 
pendently, lived  alone,  and  finally  died  alone  at  the  age  of  thirty.1 
He  was  an  original,  self-taught  savant,  to  whom  both  the  Nor- 
thern and  Southern  mythologies  were  equally  familiar.  We 
may  call  him  a  Romantic  genius.  Mystical  yearning,  personal 
suffering,  deep  pathos,  "  singing  eloquence,"  and  characteristic 
coloring  are  nowhere  better  exemplified  than  in  the  poetry  of 
Stagnelius.  No  one  understood  better  than  he  the  deeper  sig- 
nificance of  myth  and  religion,  and  the  constant  strife  between 

i  Cf.  Appendix :  Note  on  Stagnelius. 

125 


126 

matter  and  spirit,  as  pictured  both  in  myth  and  religion,  is  a 
favorite  theme  of  our  poet.  Sensuousness,  in  a  carnal  sense 
generally,  is  a  striking  quality  of  much  of  Stagnelius's  poetry. 
Woman  is  the  crown  of  nature  and  at  the  same  time  the  most 
dangerous  phenomenon  in  the  universe ;  not  even  the  gods  can 
escape  her  artful  cunning. 

These  are  some  of  the  characteristics  noticeable  in  Stagne- 
lius's treatment  of  Gothic  themes.  In  other  words  the  saga  ele- 
ment becomes  a  vehicle  for  the  Romantic,  the  didactic,  and  the 
autobiographical.  But  the  vehicle  itself  is  as  important  as  the 
rest,  and  one  is  a  spontaneous  supplement  of  the  other.  There 
seems  to  be  no  militant  effort  to  emphasize  either  one,  and  yet 
both  are  sufficiently  prominent.  Stagnelius's  Gothicism  is  found 
in  conjunction  with  Romanticism,  then,  in  a  more  restricted 
sense,  and  Hellenism.  These  three  the  poet  weaves  together 
into  a  lyrical  fabric  of  the  most  dazzling  colors  and  pleasing 
melodies. 

The  saga  element,  though  not  intentionally  obtrusive,  is  con- 
spicuous in  the  very  titles  of  Stagnelius's  poems.  "  Gunlog," 
"  Wisbur,"  and  "  Svegder  "  are  recognized  immediately  as  fa- 
miliar names  from  the  prose  Edda  and  the  Heimskringla. 
"  Sigurd  Ring  "  calls  up  the  semi-historical  exploits  of  a  mighty 
pagan  king,  and  "  Blenda  "  reminds  us  of  a  period  in  Swedish 
history  when  harsh  viking  measures  were  not  yet  forgotten. 
Of  these  five  works  " Gunlog"  is  a  fragmentary  epic ;  "Blenda" 
is  an  epic,  technically  finished  but  intrinsically  incomplete; 
"  Svegder  "  is  a  dramatic  fragment ;  and  "  Wisbur  "  and  "  Sig- 
urd Ring  "  are  short  tragedies  in  the  Greek  style  with  choruses. 
In  all  of  these  we  observe  both  a  general  enthusiasm  for  the 
saga  age  and  an  effort  to  interpret  specific  myths  or  characters. 
A  favorite  Romantic  theme,  like  the  origin  of  poetry  in  "  Gun- 
log,"  gives  the  author  opportunity  for  a  more  lengthy  discourse, 
and  here  we  must  study  the  author  himself  in  terms  of  Norse 
mythology.  But  the  Norse  element  is  never  a  mere  rhetorical 
ornamentation,  a  superficial  jumble  of  names;  it  is  always  a 
thoroughly  digested  part  of  a  poetic  nutriment.  It  is  a  back- 
ground blending  harmoniously  with  the  poet's  modern  reflec- 
tions and  feelings. 


127 

All  of  the  above-mentioned  productions  were  written  during 
the  last  eleven  years  of  the  author's  life,  but  none  of  them  were 
published  until  after  the  author's  death  in  1823.  In  taking  up 
his  Gothic  themes  more  in  detail  one  need  not  pay  much  atten- 
tion to  chronology  in  composition,  and  but  little  is  known  about 
it  with  certainty.  We  shall  consider  "  Blenda  "  first. 

"  Blenda  "  is  a  "  Romantic  Poem  in  Five  Cantos  "  and  is  writ- 
ten in  rimed,  iambic  verse  of  varying  length.  It  is  based  on  an 
old  saga-like  tradition,  of  which  one  form  goes  back  to  heathen- 
dom and  the  other,  the  one  which  Stagnelius  used,  goes  back  to 
a  later  narrative.1  In  it  the  patriotic  Blenda,  at  the  head  of  a 
band  of  Swedish  women,  attacks  and  slays  the  common  enemy, 
the  Dane.  The  scene  is  laid  in  the  district  of  Warend  in  the 
province  of  Smaland,  and  the  enemy  comes  from  Skane  in  the 
extreme  southern  part  of  Sweden,  which  then  belonged  to  Den- 
mark. In  Stagnelius,  also,  the  scene  is  laid  right  after  the 
introduction  of  Christianity,  and  Blenda  has  become  a  demonic 
Judith  who,  for  personal  reasons,  takes  a  horrible  revenge  on 
the  Danes.  With  the  Venus-girdle  as  an  allurement,  the  amor- 
ous swains  are  enticed  into  camp  and  cruelly  murdered. 

Since  the  poet  does  not  localize  his  action  in  the  real  saga 
age,  the  viking  element  becomes  epic  and  general  in  character. 
Some  events  are  given  in  terms  of  specific  Norse  myths,  and 
comparative  references  are  made  to  them  occasionally,  but 
otherwise  it  is  merely  a  general  glorification  of  the  manly  vik- 
ing exploits  and  character.  It  is  the  effeminateness  of  the 
modern  age  and  the  sturdiness  of  the  past  that  are  contrasted, 
much  as  in  Nicander  and  Beskow  later.  But  Stagnelius  makes 
a  very  ingenious  plan.  An  unflinching  bravery,  like  that  of  the 
heathen  forefathers,  is  at  first  extolled,  then  aroused  in  the  le- 
thargic Christian  warriors,  who  sail  away  at  once  across  the  Bal- 
tic to  fight  the  pagans  in  Livonia.  A  curious  put  plausible 
plan:  by  pagan  methods  the  pagans  themselves  are  to  be  con- 
verted to  Christianity. 

The  eulogy  of  the  saga  age  is  found  in  the  beginning  of  the 
first  canto,  in  Alle's  rousing  speech  to  his  warriors.  These 

i  Cf.  Introduction  by  Hammarskjold  to  Stagnelius's  "  Samlade  skrifter," 
Stockholm,  1836,  p.  32. 


128 

have  spent  nineteen  years  in  drinking,  eating,  hunting,  and 
courting  the  favor  of  women.  But  their  heathen  ancestors  did 
otherwise.  In  the  early  spring  as  soon  as  the  snow  had  melted, 
they  set  out  over  the  sea  "  to  conquer  or  die,"  while  "  many  a 
lonely  maid  stood  waving  a  farewell  with  swan-white  kerchief 
in  hand."  During  the  whole  summer  the  viking  roved  about 
the  world.  He  sunk  fleets  and  broke  down  strongholds,  rich 
coasts  were  burned  and  "  the  water-sprite  blushed  with  blood." 
Scarcely  had  the  leaves  begun  to  fall,  when  the  viking  boats 
came  back  laden  with  plunder.  The  faithful  maiden  welcomed 
her  champion,  the  lighted  torches  illumined  the  castle,  and  the 
drinking-horn  and  string-instrument  contributed  to  the  celebra- 
tion. These  were  happy  times  for  lovers;  "there  were  no 
limits,  no  laws  for  men  whose  right  arm  was  their  only  god," 
and  no  priest  could  condemn  them.  But  since  the  "white 
Christ "  came  into  the  land,  all  has  changed :  the  weapons  rust, 
the  ship  decays,  and  ancestral  manliness  is  buried  forever  in  the 
ancestral  funeral-mounds.  The  road  to  exploits  and  strength 
is  closed  and  life  has  become  one  eternal  monotony.  But  the 
viking  methods  must  return,  even  if  "the  age  of  the  saga  is 
past  and  the  heavenly  kingdom  has  driven  out  the  glorious  Val- 
halla." Again  swords  are  to  flash  and  cloven  hearts  bleed, 
though  no  sacrifices  glow  on  Odin's  altar. 

Thus  Alle  continues.  Then  he  makes  a  specific  appeal  for 
vikingism  to  his  oldest  son  Adolf  who  has  fallen  in  love  with 
Blenda.  Alle  does  not  blame  his  son  for  entertaining  a  passion 
for  a  woman,  but  he  must  win  his  beloved  in  a  manly  way.  In 
olden  times  bravery  often  went  hand  in  hand  with  love,  but  suc- 
cess in  love  could  follow  only  as  a  reward  of  bravery  and  the 
heathen  maiden  often  girded  on  her  lover's  sword.1  The  vik- 

i  Cf.  the  following  strophe  (29)  from  "  Sang  till  qvinnorna  i  Norden  " 
by  Stagnelius : 

O  skona  tid !  i  Sagans  ljud 
Blott  annu  lefvande  pa  jorden, 
Da  ynglingen  i  hoga  Norden 
Till  hjelte  valdes  af  sin  brud ! 
Hans  dygder  inga  skranker  funno, 
Och  modet  kande  ingen  grans. 
O  skona  tid !  da  karlekens 
Och  arans  eld  forente  brunno  ! 


129 

ing  was  not  tormented  by  weak  emotions;  he  rushed  through 
arrows,  swords,  and  fire  to  win  his  prize.  "The  beauties  at 
that  time  sat  in  high  ladies'-bowers,  surrounded  by  dragons  and 
firm  walls  and  could  be  won  only  by  deeds  and  perfect  manhood. 
Thus  Ragnar  Lodbrok  won  the  hand  of  Her  rod's  daughter. 
And  so,  only  when  Adolf  returns  a  victor  from  war,  may  he 
think  of  love.  The  joy  will  then  be  double. 

In  the  third  canto  Stagnelius  introduces  another  link  which 
connects  the  modern  epic  with  the  pagan  tradition.  It  is  the 
inexorable  Norse  fate  and  the  fulfilment  of  a  prophecy.  Eight 
generations  back  a  Northern  sibyl,  "a  century-old  maid  with 
wrinkled  face  and  locks  of  snow,"  had  appeared  at  Blenda's 
ancestral  castle.  To  the  beautiful  Gerd  a  daughter  had  just 
been  born,  but  the  brave  and  stern  Grim  had  demanded  of  the 
gods  a  son.  Incensed,  he  determined  to  cast  the  child  before 
the  ravens  upon  the  heath,  and  the  death  of  the  daughter  seemed 
assured,  when  the  sibyl  appeared,  drew  forth  a  dagger,  and 
rebuked  the  angry  parent  in  the  following  prophetic  terms: 
"With  this  dagger,  a  woman  of  this  race  shall  save  Sweden 
and  conquer  Jutland."  The  daughter  was  allowed  to  live,  and 
the  pagan  instrument  had  then  been  handed  down  from  mother 
to  the  oldest  daughter  for  seven  generations  until  now,  finally, 
it  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  Blenda  by  her  father.  A 
miraculous  power — we  may  call  it  fate — connected  with  a  cer- 
tain mechanical  instrument  from  heathen  times,  was  now  to  do 
its  work  through  the  agency  of  a  Christian  maid.  A  curious 
but  beautiful  and  broad-minded  thought :  Norse  paganism  and 
Christianity  in  unison,  and  the  latter  the  glorious  fulfilment  of 
the  former. 

Stagnelius  tried  his  hand  at  humor  in  "  Blenda,"  but  was  not 
particularly  successful.  His  expressions  of  humor  are  too 
realistic,  often  indelicate  and  in  bad  taste.  Atterbom  called 
"  Blenda  "  a  "  half -wanton  Wieland  epopee,"  due  to  the  au- 
thor's early  studies  of  "  Idris  "  and  "  Oberon."1 

The  plan  of  "  Blenda  "  was  probably  earlier  than  that  of  any 
other  work  of  Stagnelius,  but  it  was  not  finished  until  about 

i  See  "  Literara  karakteristiker."  Senare  bandet,  Orebro,  1870.  Recen- 
sion of  Stagnelius's  works,  pp.  51-52. 


130 

I8I6.1  The  first  product  to  be  finished — if  we  may  use  that 
term  in  speaking  of  a  fragment — was  the  epic  "  Gunlog,"  the 
greater  part  of  which  was  written  in  1812.  Here  the  satirical 
element  was  present  in  the  original  source  but  in  Stagnelius's 
epic  it  is  much  suppressed.  The  rough,  grotesque,  and  grossly 
satirical  gives  way  to  a  lyrico-epic  "  height  and  dignity."  The 
pleasant  Romantic  elements  are  more  prominent.  Everything 
is  colored  in  purple,  rose,  or  silver,  and  bathed  in  moonlight 
in  a  "gloomy  pine- forest."  It  is  less  clear  and  more  subjective 
than  "Blenda"  but  the  style  and  form2  are  better.  First  a 
word  about  the  original  source. 

"The  Tales  of  Brage"  (Bragaroeftur,  Chapters  3-4)  in  the 
Snorre  Edda  give  us  two  distinct  parts  of  the  original  myth: 
(i)  the  origin  of  Suttung's  mead,  and  (2)  Odin's  capture  of 
it,  signifying  the  origin  of  poetry  and  how  it  became  the  prop- 
erty of  the  gods.  The  divine  Asas  and  the  Wanes  had  a  war 
with  each  other.  They  came  together  to  make  peace  and  spat 
their  spittle3  into  one  vessel,  and  out  of  this  they  created 
Kwasir,  who  was  so  wise  that  he  could  give  advice  in  all  things. 
Kwasir  was  killed  through  treachery  by  the  dwarfs,  Fjalar  and 
Galar.  His  blood  was  collected  in  two  pitchers  and  a  kettle, 
mixed  with  honey,  and  a  mead  prepared  from  it,  and  he  who 
drank  thereof  became  a  poet  and  a  sage.  Once  the  same 
dwarfs  caused  the  death  of  the  giant  Gilling  and  the  mead  was 
given  as  indemnity  to  Gilling's  son,  Suttung,  for  the  death  of 
his  father.  Suttung  had  the  mead  brought  into  the  mountain 
Hnitbjorg,  where  it  was  guarded  by  his  daughter  Gunnlod 
(Gunlog).  This  is  the  end  of  the  first  part.  Then  Odin,  under 
the  name  of  Bolwerk,  comes  to  Suttung's  brother,  Baugi.  He 
brings  about  the  death  of  his  nine  servants  and  offers  to  take 
their  place  in  return  for  a  drink  of  Kwasir's  (i.  e.,  Suttung's) 
mead.  Odin  stays  through  the  summer  but  in  the  winter  he 
demands  his  reward.  Suttung  refuses  Odin  and  Baugi  the 

1  It  was  probably  written  immediately  before  "  Wladimir  den   Store," 
which  appeared  in  1817. 

2  It  is  written  in  easy-flowing,  regular  rimed  pentameters  with  alternat- 
ing masculine  and  feminine  rimes. 

3  The  spittle  of  the  Asas  and  Wanes  represents  the  spiritual  and  the 
formal  in  poetry,  respectively. 


131 

coveted  draught;  and  so  Bolwerk  (Odin)  takes  an  auge£, 
bores  a  hole  through  the  Hnitbjorg  mountain,  changes  himself 
to  a  serpent,  and  crawls  through  to  Gunnlod.  He  spends  three 
nights  with  her,  gets  three  draughts  of  the  mead,  and  empties 
all  three  vessels.  He  then  returns  as  he  had  come,  assumes 
the  shape  of  an  eagle  and  flies  away.  He  is  pursued  by  Sut- 
tung,  likewise  in  eagle  form,  but  Odin  arrives  home  in  time  to 
eject  the  mead  into  vessels  stationed  in  the  yard  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  Suttung  has  to  be  satisfied  with  a  few  drippings  from 
behind.  From  now  on  the  poet-making  drink  is  the  property 
of  the  gods  alone. 

We  can  easily  see  how  a  thorough  Romanticist  would  revel 
in  such  a  theme.  Beneath  the  external  crudeness  of  the  Norse 
myth  we  have  the  profound  meaning;  the  divine  ownership  of 
poetry.  It  was  this  theme  which  appealed  to  the  young  Stag- 
nelius,  as  it  did  to  so  many  German  Romanticists.  The  poet 
was  on  a  par  with  the  gods  and  his  art  was  a  divine  art  and  of 
divine  origin.  Consequently  the  humorous  element  in  "  Gun- 
log"  is  less  developed,  the  crudeness  is  to  a  large  extent  re- 
moved, and  the  details  of  the  original  are  altered1  to  suit  the 
main  purpose :  the  apotheosis  of  poetry.  Then  also  it  becomes 
the  struggle  between  the  powers  of  light  and  darkness,  i.  e., 
between  the  Asas  and  the  dwarfs,  and  the  former  must  conquer. 
Wickedness  is  punished,  for  the  norns  are  ever  watchful,  and 
specific  violence  against  the  sons  of  poetry  is  eventually 
avenged.  "  Gunlog"  eulogizes  also  the  magic  power  of  music. 
Music  is  the  art,  par  excellence, — and  how  Romantic  this  is, — 
which  can  soothe  the  restless  soul  and  arouse  the  warriors  to 
action.  Stagnelius's  epic  has  become  the  carrier  for  expres- 
sions of  tender  moods  and  melancholy,  for  elegiac  effusions, 
for  didacticism,  and  for  highly  colored  descriptions.  Much 
emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  history  of  the  creation  according  to 
the  Norse  myth  and  references  are  made  to  semi-historical 
facts  and  viking  customs. 

The  epic  "  Gunlog "  comprises  four  complete  cantos  with 
fragments  of  a  fifth  and  sixth.  The  first  canto  deals  with 
Kwasir's  divine  calling  as  a  poet,  his  war  against  the  Asas. 

i  For  instance,  Stagnelius  uses  only  one  vessel  to  collect  Kwasir's  blood. 


132 

Kwasir  has  been  brought  up  by  Northern  fairies  "  near  sacred 
springs  in  the  quiet  grove."  At  seventeen  he  goes  out  to  sing 
of  the  glory  of  the  gods;  to  spread  life  and  pleasure  through 
the  almighty  power  of  song  and  music ;  and  to  sing  of  weapons 
and  of  the  golden  age  when  all  was  innocent.1  He  arrives  at 
Asa-gard  where  he  "shines  like  a  star."  Here  he  tells  of  Odin's 
beneficial  immigration  into  the  North  and  either  sings  mildly 
of  death,  or  the  strings  of  his  harp  "  roar  forth  the  thunder  of 
war  "  and  arouse  the  desire  for  murder.  In  the  interim,  Sut- 
tung,  who  reigns  in  the  extreme  North  at  Hnitbjorg,  hears 
that  foreign  vessels  have  arrived  on  the  shore  of  Manhem  with 
new  gods  and  religious  services  and  decides  to  fight  them. 
Clubs  and  bows  and  arrows  are  to  be  used  "  after  the  custom 
of  the  forefathers,"  "  shields  are  cleaned  with  sand  and  bear- 
fat,"  and  the  edges  of  steel  sharpened  on  smooth  rocks. 

In  the  second  canto  Kwasir  arrives  at  Suttung's  court,  his 
countenance  beaming  with  "  divine  enchantment."  With  him 
is  the  warrior  Brage  who  comes  as  a  special  messenger  from 
Odin  to  sue  for  the  hand  of  Suttung's  daughter,  Gunlog.  The 
skald  sings  of  his  youth,2  his  divine  gift,  and  of  the  creation  of 
the  world.  But  Suttung  is  enraged,  he  is  only  temporarily 
pacified  by  the  magic  power  of  Kwasir's  music  and  determines 
"to  drink  intoxication  out  of  the  Asas'  skulls,"  much  as  the 
forefathers  were  wont  to  do.3 

The  third  canto  is  a  beautiful  and  sublime  mingling  of  the 
Romantic  and  the  Gothic.  Here  we  find  gods  and  dwarfs, 
dreams,  pathos,  miracles,  caves,  and  moonlight.  Brage  and 
Kwasir  descend  into  a  cave  on  a  mountain  to  rest.  Kwasir 
dreams.  He  realizes  he  will  not  live  much  longer,  and  so 
comes  out  upon  a  cliff  near  a  lonely  shore  and  sings  his  best 
songs.  He  tells  of  the  dwarfs  and  of  their  partial  destruction 
by  Asa-Thor.  And,  alas!  two  dwarfs  who  had  their  forge 
beneath  the  mountain  were  annoyed  by  Kwasir's  harp — "the 
breast  where  dwells  the  hunger  for  gold"  is  immune  to  the 
magic  power  of  song  and  fraternal  sympathy — and  capture  the 

1  Cf.       Ja,  sail  var  jorden  innan  Lokes  brott 

Och  Hoders  blindhet  hunnit  Balder  falla,  11.  81-82. 

2  Cf.  quotation  at  beginning  of  chapter. 

3  Cf.  lines  248-49. 


133 

minstrel.  He  is  bound  naked  to  a  marble  pillar  and  murdered. 
But  the  divine  norn  is  present.  She  removes  the  corpse  to 
save  the  skald  from  disgrace,  his  sacred  blood  is  changed  by 
a  miracle  to  a  golden  yellow  mead,  and,  together  with  the  harp, 
is  deposited  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  grotto. 

In  the  fourth  canto  the  dwarfs  are  executed  for  not  having 
a  suit  of  armor  ready  which  they  were  forging  for  Suttung, 
and  thus  the  death  of  the  skald  is,  in  a  sense,  already  avenged. 
Suttung  makes  further  preparations  to  reconquer  Manhem 
from  the  new  gods.  The  army  eats  bear-steak  prepared  in 
copper  kettles,  and  a  mead  is  prepared  from  honey  and  hops. 
Then  the  dwarfs'  grotto  is  plundered.  Hjalmar,  a  character 
invented  by  the  poet,  is  led  by  fate  to  Kwasir's  blood  or  mead. 
He  had  before  the  making  of  a  poet;  now  he  becomes  a  real 
skald.  His  vision  includes  new  worlds,  his  feelings  melt 
together  into  a  symphony,  and  everything  becomes  purple  and 
gold.  Through  the  winds  of  the  night,  among  the  tall  pines 
and  in  a  silvery  moonlight  the  heavenly  tones  issue  forth  from 
his  harp.  The  gates  of  heaven  are  now  truly  open  to  him. 
Suttung  hears  the  harp  and,  angered,  pursues  the  skald,  but 
the  latter  is  protected  by  the  norn.  It  is  now  that  Suttung 
procures  the  wonderful  mead  and  decides  to  entrust  it  to  the 
care  of  his  daughter  Gunlog.  She  is  to  be  the  custodian  of  it 
at  the  castle  of  Hnitbjorg  until  her  father's  victorious  return 
from  the  war  with  Odin.  In  the  meantime  Brage  has  disap- 
peared— the  poet  does  not  make  it  clear  when — and  returns  to 
Odin  with  the  tidings,  while  Suttung  goes  to  sleep  listening  to 
Hjalmar's  harp.  Then  Thor  is  given  command  of  the  Asa- 
troops,  for  love  and  longing  has  deprived  Odin  of  the  necessary 
energy  to  carry  armor.  Thus  the  poet : 

Sa  stammer  karlek  hjeltars  styrka  ner, 
Sa  afven  Gudar  trana  for  begaren.1 

The  favorite  thought  of  Stagnelius,  that  woman  is  the  cause 
of  the  downfall  of  both  men  and  gods,  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
fragment  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  cantos.  The  wise  Mimer 

i  Thus  love  takes  away  the  strength  of  heroes ;  thus  even  the  gods  yearn 
for  desires  (i.  e.,  the  passion  of  love). 

10 


134 

points  out  that  the  Asas  will  never  conquer  Jothem  unless  they 
obtain  Kwasir's  golden  harp  to  arouse  the  men  to  courage. 
How  is  this  to  be  done?  Freya's  maid  Lofne  is  selected  to 
entice  Hjalmar  by  womanly  cunning  which  can  do  anything  in 
the  world.  Hjalmar  resists  the  temptation  for  a  while,  but 
finally  yields  passionately,  Lofne  obtains  the  harp,  and  arrives 
at  Odin's  castle  with  it.  The  last  part  of  the  fragment  deals 
with  Odin's  visit  to  Gunlog.  It  is  extremely  passionate,  naive, 
and  suggestive.  In  the  morning  after  his  nocturnal  sojourn, 
Odin  drinks  the  mead,  embraces  his  sweetheart  again,  assumes 
the  form  of  an  eagle  (as  in  the  original  source),  and  flies  away. 
In  Asa-gard  he  ejects  the  mead  into  a  beaker  which  "rings 
melodiously  at  every  drop."  Brage,  who  has  been  waiting  for 
him,  drinks  it  and  now  feels  a  higher  divinity  burning  in  his 
heart.  His  glance  is  directed  toward  the  canopy  of  the  stars 
and  he  is  crowned  king  of  skalds.  The  Jota-army  is  crushed 
and  driven  into  the  far  North  where  they  live  as  Lapps.  Hjal- 
mar gets  a  place  among  the  skalds  and  Gunlog  becomes  the 
wife  of  Odin. 

It  is  clear  from  the  above  analysis  that  in  "  Gunlog "  Stag- 
nelius  was  most  interested  in  the  purely  poetic,  the  personal, 
the  feminine,  and  the  Romantic.  He  molds  the  myth  to  suit 
his  will.  In  the  next  work  to  be  considered  we  shall  notice  a 
somewhat  different  attitude. 

In  no  production  has  the  poet  followed  the  original  source 
as  closely  as  in  "Wisbur."  In  this  short  five-act  tragedy  our 
attention  is  focused  upon  the  original  narrative,  as  given  by 
Snorre  Sturleson  in  the  Ynglinga  Saga.  Fate,  which  played 
a  secondary  part  in  "  Blenda "  and  "  Gunlog,"  becomes  the 
principal  motive  in  "Wisbur."  A  curse  like  that  upon  And- 
vari's  treasure  in  the  Volsunga  Saga  rests  upon  our  hero.  It 
is  the  necessary  expiation  of  old  sins  and  the  unavoidable  repe- 
tition of  the  same  which  gives  the  tragic  setting.  It  is  a  logical 
Hellenic-Gothic  sequence  of  sin,  curse,  blood,  and  tears.  Then 
Stagnelius  weaves  into  his  fabric  the  danger  of  ambition,  the 
superiority  of  lowliness  to  greatness  and  honor,  and  emphasizes 
again  the  power  and  character  of  woman. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Li vijn  had  in  mind  a  trilogy  on  the 


135 

saga  of  Wisbur  (Visbur),  but  it  was  never  written.  The  main 
facts  of  the  original  form  of  the  saga  have,  therefore,  been 
given  already.1  We  shall  see  that  the  story  in  the  drama  coin- 
cides on  the  whole  with  the  original. 

The  enchantress  Huld  gives  us  the  past  history  of  the  fatal 
chain,  now  worn  by  Hildur.  The  golden  chain  had  once  been 
the  property  of  Odin's  wife.  It  was  made  by  the  dwarf  Sindre, 
it  had  the  property  of  producing  nothing  but  strife  and  war, 
and  had  been  stolen  by  Loki  for  the  destruction  and  enticement 
of  all  the  gods'  children.  It  was  promised  by  Vaulande, 
Wisbur's  father,  to  Drifva  in  Finland,  but  Vaulande  was  faith- 
less, and  died  as  a  consequence,  through  his  former  sweetheart's 
revenge. 

Now  the  situation  becomes  analogous  in  Wisbur's  own  case. 
His  first  wife  Oda  has  been  deserted.  He  has  two  sons,  Gissler 
(Gisel)  and  Auder  (Audur),  by  her  and  the  chain  and  throne 
should  belong  to  them.  Oda  appears  at  Wisbur's  court  at 
Uppsala  to  claim  her  just  dues.  A  large  feast  is  being  pre- 
pared to  which  all  are  invited,  including  the  two  sons.  The 
gods  do  not  seem  propitious  but  Wisbur  goes  blindly  on.  Oda's 
request  is  refused,  and  Wisbur  declares  honestly  and  directly 
that  he  does  not  love  his  former  wife  any  more.  Whereupon 
Oda  becomes  a  raging  animal,  a  ferocious  Penthesilea,  who 
would  gladly  "  drink  blood  as  she  drinks  the  frothing  mead." 
After  a  consultation  with  Vanlander's  (Vaulande's)  spirit,  the 
reigning  couple  are  made  acquainted  with  the  pending  catas- 
trophe. Soon  crowds  appear,  surround  the  castle,  and  capture 
it.  Hildur,  in  despair,  chokes  herself  with  the  cursed  chain, 
Wisbur  falls  on  his  sword.  Auder  comes  on  the  stage  with 
the  coveted  jewel,  and  now  Oda  is  ready  to  die. 

In  the  original  the  chain  is  mentioned  only  in  connection  with 
Wisbur  (in  Chap.  17  of  the  Ynglinga  Saga),  and  the  former 
history  of  the  neck-ring  is  not  mentioned  at  all.  Stagnelius 
supplies  the  name,  also,  of  Wisbur's  second  wife ;  the  saga  tells 
us  merely  that  he  "took  to  himself  another  wife."  Likewise 
the  details  of  the  catastrophe  have  been  altered  to  suit  the  dra- 

1  Cf.  Chap.  I,  p.  72,  where  the  original  narrative  is  given. 


136 

matic  situation ;  but  the  fundamental  motivation  of  the  original 
source  has  been  preserved. 

"  Wisbur "  is  a  marvelous  harmony  of  Gothicism  and  Hel- 
lenism. Of  course,  it  is  primarily  a  lyrical  reading  drama;  and 
for  this  reason  the  choruses  are  very  prominent  and  contain 
perhaps  the  most  beautiful  poetry  in  the  tragedy.  Here  the 
Hellenic-antique,  however,  overshadows  the  Scandinavian- 
antique.  And  what  wonderful  harmony  here  of  form  and  con- 
tent !  Oda  makes  her  awful,  revengeful  resolutions  in  ominous 
dactylic  tetrameters  j1  when  Wisbur's  castle  is  surrounded,  the 
chorus  gives  us  the  details  in  rapid  dimeters,  alternating  with 
tetrameters;2  the  combat  between  father  and  son  is  told  in 
exciting  iambic  tetrameters;3  and  a  temporary  calm  after  the 
storm  is  indicated  by  alternating  tetrameters,  and  trimeters 
of  the  dactylic  foot.4  The  main  argument  is  written  in  the 
modern  blank  verse  with  little  action  and,  like  the  author's 
other  works,  with  much  coloring  of  rose,  lily,  purple  and  silver. 
The  mild  sighs,  moonlight  and  mystical  yearning  of  a  Romantic 
atmosphere  are  not  wanting. 

Stagnelius  has  put  some  thoughts  into  the  minds  of  the  char- 
acters Wisbur  and  Hildur  which  may  well  have  an  autobio- 
graphical application,  especially  when  we  know  of  the  poet's 
own  mental  and  physical  suffering. 

Hildur,  in  the  first  act — we  may  well  call  it  a  mere  scene — 
says :  "  It  is  easy  to  die  but  cruel  to  tremble  eternally."  No 
doubt  the  poet  felt  the  truth  of  this  assertion.  Again,  in  the 
fourth  act,  after  Hildur  has  announced  the  decreed  doom  to 
come,  Wisbur  answers  with  a  grim  humor : 

1  Cf.  Ormar  fran  Nastrand  !  sliten  mitt  brost ! 

Spruten  ert  gift  i  mitt  rasande  hjerta! 

2  Cf.  Ack!  losslappt  ar  fejden; 

En  rasande  tiger, 

Snart  frassar  den  grymme  pa  likstrodda  torg. 

3  Cf.  Det  vilda  hafvets  raseri 

Och  stormens  vrede  tyglen  I — 
Kan  menskan  blott  ej  hugnad  bli? 
*  Cf.  Stjernorna  blanka  sa  mildt  i  azuren 

Blommorna  sofva  i  dalen. 
Lugn  ar  den  eviga,  hulda  naturen, 
Andas  blott  njutning  och  val. 


137 

Med  doden  alltsa  endast?     Goda  Hildur! 

Visst  skall  jag  do;  jag  visste  det  forut. 

Den  hoga  Oden  fore  mig  ju  dodde, 

Han,  Valhalls  konung,  alia  diars  hufvud, 

Den  rika  Niord,  akerbrukets  Gud, 

Och  Yngve  Frey,  den  gyllne  tidens  drott, 

Och  Fjolner,  Svegder,  och  min  far  Vanlander. 

Ej  annat  ode  kan  jag  vanta  mig.1 

Incidentally  we  get,  at  the  same  time,  a  good  sprinkling  of 
names  from  Norse  mythology. 

"  Sigurd  Ring,"  another  short  tragedy  in  pentameters,  is  very 
much  like  "Wisbur."  The  formal  characteristics  are  the  same; 
the  unities  are  observed,  the  characters  few,  and  choruses  extol 
the  heroes  and  heroine.  There  is  little  action;  most  of  it  is 
epic  and  lyrical.  It  has  dramatic  episodes  of  touching  inten- 
sity, but  it  is  too  brief  for  a  stage  play.  It  has  the  usual 
amount  of  Romantic  epithets  and  mystical  longing,  and  evinces 
the  most  stirring  pathos.  No  Gothic  work  of  Stagnelius — 
perhaps  none  of  his  works — depicts  such  intensity  of  feeling, 
it  seems  to  me,  as  "  Sigurd  Ring."  And  the  almost  imper- 
ceptible blending  of  realism  and  lyricism  in  the  tragedy  proves 
unmistakably  that  the  author  is  a  poet  of  genius. 

Again,  "  das  Ewig-weibliche "  plays  an  important  role.  In 
fact,  it  seems  as  if  the  poet  at  times  were  more  interested  in  the 
heroine  than  in  the  hero.  The  tragedy  could  just  as  well  have 
been  called  "  Hilma,"  the  name  of  the  heroine,  as  "  Sigurd 
Ring."  How  Stagnelius  delights  in  the  glorification  of  wom- 
anly beauty!  Beauty  is  god-like,  and  the  terms  used  in  de- 
scribing that  of  woman  are  frequently — and  naturally — com- 
pounds of  "snow"  and  "lily."  As  in  "Wisbur,"  there  is  a 
personal  note,  an  evidence  of  the  poet's  own  suffering.  In 
Act  III,  for  instance,  there  is  much  about  hope,  patience,  and 
a  silent  resignation  to  whatever  fate  may  have  in  store  for  us. 

1  [And  so  you  come  to  announce]  Death  only  ?  Why,  my  good  Hildur ! 
Of  course  I  am  to  die ;  I  knew  that  before.  Why,  the  high  Odin  before 
me  died,  he,  the  king  of  Valhalla,  the  chief  of  all  the  gods.  The  rich 
Niord,  the  god  of  agriculture ;  and  Yngve  Frey,  the  king  of  the  Golden 
Age;  and  Fjolner,  Svegder,  and  my  father  Vanlander;  no  other  fate  may 
I  expect. 


138 

The  Old  Norse  element  in  "  Sigurd  Ring  "  is  different  from 
that  in  "Wisbur."  In  the  former  the  original  source  is  more 
truly  historical  and  the  emphasis,  therefore,  laid  more  upon 
viking  characteristics  than  upon  pure  Norse  myths.  The  vik- 
ing qualities  are  idealized  and  accounts  of  them  clothed  in 
elevated  language.  The  Northern  pirate's  directness  of  speech 
and  uprightness  is  well  illustrated.  A  promise  once  made  is 
always  kept.  A  death  on  the  battlefield,  either  self-inflicted 
or  at  the  hand  of  another,  is  the  ideal  death  for  an  heroic 
viking,  and  the  blue  dwelling-place  of  the  water-sprite  is  a 
charming  grave  for  a  Norse  woman.  And  this  has  divine 
sanction.  That  Alf  dies  on  the  battlefield  with  Sigurd's  sword, 
wielded  by  Sigurd  himself,  is  not  only  desired  by  Alf,  but  de- 
creed and  fulfilled  by  the  fate  of  the  gods.  In  addition  to  the 
strictly  viking  element,  also,  we  have  much  of  the  poet's  reflec- 
tion in  "  Sigurd  Ring,"  expressed  in  terms  of  Norse  myths. 
In  illustrating  the  tremendous  power  of  love  (in  Act  II),  Stag- 
nelius  introduces  again — and  this  time  he  follows  the  original 
myth  more  closely — the  story  of  Suttung's  mead.  That  is,  he 
uses  that  part  of  Norse  mythology  which  best  suits  his  Ro- 
mantic temperament. 

Sigurd  Ring  was  one  of  the  last  kings  of  the  mythological 
age  of  the  North.  He  made  himself  the  ruler  of  all  Scandi- 
navia by  the  defeat  of  Harald  Hildetand  at  the  memorable 
battle  of  Bravallahed  in  Smaland,  Sweden,  730  A.  D.  This 
was  the  last  battle  in  which  Odin  himself  is  said  to  have  ap- 
peared on  earth,  and  most  of  the  nobles  and  heroes  of  the 
whole  North  met  in  combat.1  The  victory  of  Sigurd  Ring 
over  Harald  Hildetand  is  mentioned  in  Saxo  Grammaticus  in 
the  eighth  book. 

The  scene  of  the  original  story  of  Stagnelius's  tragedy,  ac- 
cording to  Hammarskjold,2  is  laid  in  Norway,  and  Alf -sol 
(Hilma)  is  the  daughter  of  a  sub-king  of  Norway.  Here  Si- 
gurd, king  of  Svithiod  (Sweden),  sues  for  the  hand  of  Alf-sol 
but  is  refused  by  the  father  and  brothers  on  the  ground  of  old 

1  Cf.  Paul  C.  Binding:  The  Scandinavian  Races,  New  York,  1875,  pp.  4;ff. 

2  Cf.  Introduction  to  Stagnelius's  "  Samlade  skrifter,"  Stockholm,  1836, 
PP.  36-37. 


139 

age.  Then,  as  had  been  the  viking  custom,  Sigurd  resorts  to 
force.  But  since  Sigurd  is  a  mighty  and  feared  warrior,  the 
brothers  anticipate  the  outcome  of  the  encounter  by  giving  their 
sister  poison  before  the  fray  opens.  When  Sigurd  finds  her 
dead  he  dies  himself,  "  as  he  had  lived,  among  the  billows  and 
flames."1 

Stagnelius  localizes  his  tragedy  in  Denmark  in  the  province 
of  Jutland,  and  the  action  which  we  see  takes  place  in  a  colon- 
nade-hall in  Alf 's  castle.  The  name  of  the  heroine  is  Hilma ; 
Alf  is  her  brother  and  guardian  and  under-king  of  Jutland; 
Ragnar  is  a  hero  and  Hilma's  accepted  lover ;  and  Sigurd,  as  in 
history,  is  an  old  man  and  king  of  Sweden,  Norway  and  Den- 
mark. The  tragic  conflict,  as  in  the  original,  is  between  gen- 
uine love  and  earthly  power.  It  is  duty,  sworn  friendship,  and 
honor  against  splendor,  high  position,  and  faithlessness.  Hilma 
does  not  care  for  happiness  in  the  ordinary  sense ;  she  wants  a 
heart,  and  is,  naturally,  willing  to  die  for  her  love. 

The  plot  is  very  simple.  Sigurd,  who  has  always  been  vic- 
torious in  battle,  demands  the  hand  of  Hilma  from  her  brother. 
The  old  king  is  straightway  rejected,  for  Alf  refuses  to  break 
his  word  that  Ragnar  shall  possess  her  love.  The  refusal 
means  war,  and  war  under  the  circumstances  means  the  defeat 
and  probable  death  of  Hilma's  protectors.  And  so  Hilma 
takes  the  poison  prepared  for  her,  and  in  the  presence  of  her 
lover,  Alf  and  Ragnar  are  both  slain  in  the  battle  that  follows, 
Sigurd  himself  commits  suicide,  and  the  bodies  of  Sigurd  and 
Hilma  are  burned  on  the  same  funeral  pyre  upon  the  monarch's 
ship. 

That  Stagnelius  had  the  power  to  create  a  scene  of  dramatic 
beauty  is  proved  in  the  fourth  act.  Sigurd  is  just  returning 
with  the  blood  of  Alf  and  Ragnar  upon  his  conscience.  He 
has  sent  thousands  to  Valhalla  before  without  the  slightest 
feeling  of  compunction,  but  the  last  deed  worries  him.  In  the 
meantime  the  body  of  Hilma  has  been  prepared  for  the  last 

i  For  his  own  source,  Hammarskjold  refers  in  his  Introduction  to 
"Sveriges  historia  for  ungdom,"  by  M.  Bruzelius.  I  have  not  seen  this 
work  myself. 


140 

rites  and  is  lying  in  state.  Gerda,  the  fostermother,  tells 
Sigurd,  who  knows  nothing  of  Hilma's  death,  that  his  bride  is 
waiting  for  him  in  wedding  array,  calm,  silent,  and  smiling. 
The  subsequent  scene,  when  Sigurd  discovers  the  real  state  of 
affairs,  and  the  heroic  lamentations  of  the  old  viking  king  at 
Hilma's  bier  produce  a  dramatic  situation  of  immense  power. 

The  poet's  own  hopeful  and  serene  view  of  the  life  to  come 
finds  a  suitable  expression  in  "  Sigurd  Ring "  in  terms  of 
Norse  mythology.  The  tone  is  that  of  a  -deep  religiosity  and 
faith  in  a  better  eternal  life.  The  chorus  in  the  last  act  sings 
first  of  the  final  destruction  of  the  world.  Then,  last  of  all,  it 
sings  of  the  eternal  bliss  to  come,  when  evil  is  no  more ;  when 
Balder  and  Nanna  return  from  the  subjugated  kingdom  of 
Hel ;  and  when  the  Asas  discover  anew  in  the  green  grass  the 
divine  runes  of  Allfather. 

That  Stagnelius  knew  his  Norse  mythology  and  understood 
its  profound  meaning  perfectly,  is  nowhere  better  illustrated 
than  in  the  interesting,  seven-page  dramatic  fragment  "  Sveg- 
der."  In  the  original  source  the  poet  found  the  very  essence 
of  the  moral  and  religious  struggles  of  mankind.  He  found 
his  own  agonizing,  Faustian  struggle  of  two  souls,  diametrically 
opposed  to  one  another,  dwelling  in  the  same  breast.  Here 
was  the  golden  opportunity  to  dwell  on  the  everlasting  war 
between  matter  and  spirit.  Here  the  poet  found  a  vehicle  for 
symbolism  and  philosophy;  here,  again,  woman  becomes  the 
only  conqueror  of  gods ;  and  back  of  it  all  are  the  blind,  incom- 
prehensible judgments  of  fate. 

The  narrative  of  the  original  Svegder  (Svegde)1  is  found  in 
the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the  Ynglinga  Saga  by  Sturleson.  It 
deals  with  an  Uppsala  king's  journey  to  the  Black  Sea  to  find 
Odin  the  Old.  On  the  way  he  is  enticed  into  a  mountain  by 
dwarfs  and  never  returns.  According  to  Sturleson,  it  was 
Svegder's  second  effort  to  reach  Gudhem,  i.  e.,  "god-home," 
the  home  of  Odin.  "  Once  more  Svegde  set  out  to  reach  Gud- 
hem. In  the  eastern  part  of  Sweden  (Svithiod)  there  is  a 
large  village  by  the  name  of  Stone  (Sten),  where  there  is  a 
rock  as  large  as  a  big  house.  In  the  evening  after  sunset,  when 

1  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Wisbur,  whom  we  have  treated  above. 


141 

Svegde  was  returning  from  the  drinking-bout  to  his  sleeping 
chamber,  he  looked  at  the  rock  and  saw  that  a  dwarf  sat  beneath 
it.  Svegde  and  his  men  were  very  much  intoxicated  and  ran 
against  the  rock.  The  dwarf  stood  in  the  door,  calling  to 
Svegde,  and  bade  him  come  in,  if  he  wished  to  find  Odin. 
Svegde  hastened  to  come  inside  the  rock,  which  closed  imme- 
diately, and  Svegde  never  came  back." 

Of  the  original  dramatis  personae  only  one  character  (the 
dwarf)  appears  in  Stagnelius's  fragment.  But  the  poet  has 
introduced  three  others:  Nore,  a  giant;  Sindre,  a  dwarf,  serv- 
ant, and  watchman  in  the  employ  of  Nore;  and  Hild,  Nore's 
daughter,  who  is  to  entice  Svegder.  The  hero  himself  does  not 
appear,  but  we  are  acquainted  with  everything  there  is  to  know 
about  him.  He  is  the  fifth  grandson  of  Fridulf,  who  formerly 
established  altars  to  the  glory  of  Odin,  and  represents  the 
power  of  light.  Opposed  to  him  are  the  dwarfs  and  the  giant 
Nore,  who  represent  the  servants  of  darkness.  From  this  list 
of  characters  the  main  theme  may  be  imagined  without  further 
comment. 

The  dwarf  has  just  completed  a  chain,  the  making  of  which 
has  been  entrusted  to  him  by  the  King  of  the  Mountain,  Nore. 
The  different  links  of  the  chain  furnish  material  for  philosoph- 
ical reflections  on  the  judgments  of  fate.1  Nore  tells  the 
dwarf  to  keep  the  "new  Gleipner  "  (the  chain)  which  has  been 
forged  by  the  powers  of  revenge  for  destructive  purposes 
against  Odin's  children.  Then  follows  a  brief  history  of  the 
creation  and  of  the  original  strife  between  the  gods  and  the 
giants.  Nore  summons  the  sons  of  Ymer  (here,  the  dwarfs), 
reveals  to  them  their  origin,  and  inspires  in  them  a  hope  of 
future  joy.  The  giants  and  dwarfs  are  brothers,  and  upon 
their  altars  the  people  were  wont  to  worship,  until  Odin  came 
and  defeated  the  King  of  Materia,  i.  e.,  Ymer.  All  giants  and 
dwarfs  drowned  in  the  blood  of  Ymer  except  Bergelmer,  with 
wife,  children,  and  slaves,  who  escaped.  Through  these  the 
race  carried  on  an  eternal  war  against  the  powers  of  light. 

1  Cf .  Schiller's  "  Das  Lied  von  der  Glocke  " ;  the  different  stages  in  the 
casting  of  the  bell  and  the  accompanying  reflections  represent  the  different 
stages  in  the  growth  of  an  individual. 


142 

They  often  forged  weapons  of  murder  for  man  and  "  by  means 
of  the  alluring  food  of  gold  brought  them  into  vice  and  de- 
struction." This  condition  continued  until  Fridulf's  son  came 
and  established  altars  to  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Light  and 
frightened  the  dwarfs  back  into  the  rivers  and  mountains. 
That  is,  Odin  was  recognized  as  the  victor,  although  the  divine 
power  of  darkness  was  still  worshipped. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe  that  in  the  introductory 
epic  material  of  the  fragment  we  have  nothing  but  Chris- 
tian ideals  in  the  garb  of  Norse  mythology.  Odin  is  virtually 
none  other  than  Christ  himself,  or  better,  perhaps,  the  personi- 
fication of  what  we  call  Christian  ideals.  This  becomes  still 
more  evident  as  Nore's  narrative  goes  on.  According  to  a 
"  ridiculous  "  saga,  which  originated  in  the  "  sacred  palm-abode 
of  India,"  Odin  was  to  allow  himself  to  be  born  of  an  earthly 
woman  to  redeem  man.  And  now  Svegder,  who  believes  Odin 
to  be  his  ancestor,  has  set  out  for  the  land  of  palms,  olives,  and 
sycamores  to  visit  the  God  who  has  just  been  born  of  woman. 
In  other  words,  Svegder  is  undertaking  a  pilgrimage  across  the 
Baltic  to  the  Orient,  which  the  poet  supposes  to  be  the  cradle 
of  both  the  Old  Norse  and  the  Christian  religions. 

Then  commences  the  real  dramatic  action  which  is  very  brief. 
Nore  knows  about  Svegder's  journey  and  has  sent  Hild  to 
entice  him.  His  servant,  Sindre,  is  watching  upon  the  top  of 
the  mountain  for  the  approach  of  the  victim.  Sindre  arrives 
on  the  scene  and  announces  the  arrival  of  Svegder  with  a  band 
of  warriors.  Then  Hild  enters ;  evidently  she  has  already  laid 
the  snare,  and  she  sets  forth  how  a  situation  of  that  kind  must 
always  be  met.  The  only  means  for  darkness  to  overcome 
light  is  "  the  haven  of  a  maiden."  A  glance,  a  voice,  will  "  dis- 
arm the  whole  power  of  the  sun  and  allure  the  regents  of  the 
stars  down  from  their  thrones  to  an  effeminate  rest  on  a  bed 
of  flowers." 

Here  the  fragment  ends,  and  there  is  very  little  more  that 
can  be  said  about  it.  It  is  another  illustration  of  a  Romanti- 
cist's unsuccessful  attempt  to  dramatize  a  saga  theme.  But 
this  much  must  be  said :  there  is  a  wealth  of  meaning  hidden 
in  the  original  source  and  it  would  have  proved  interesting  to 


143 

see  how  Stagnelius  really  intended  to  formulate  the  drama  as 
a  whole. 

Dramatically,  "  Svegder  "  was  not  a  success,  even  as  far  as 
it  went ;  and  probably  could  not  have  been,  if  completed.  The 
internal  meaning  was  more  suitable  for  an  epic  than  a  drama, 
and  there  was  not  enough  material  in  the  original  for  a  com- 
plex, well-developed  plot.  It  was  merely  an  episode  and  the 
hero,  who  is  a  tool  of  cruel  fate,  is  practically  ensnared  at  the 
beginning  of  the  drama.  There  is  no  more  to  develop.  Then, 
too,  a  pretentious  scheme,  where  woman  was  to  be  the  tool  and 
unconquerable  emissary  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  could  hardly 
prove  an  agreeable  dramatic  topic  in  this  case.  It  was  based, 
it  seems,  on  personal  opinions  which  were  too  severe  and 
pessimistic. 


CHAPTER  V 

NlCANDER  AND  BESKOW :  WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  THE 

AGE  OF  TRANSITION  FROM  NORSE  HEATHENDOM  TO 

CHRISTIANITY,  AS  REFLECTED  IN  THE  ROMANTIC 

DRAMAS  OF  THESE  Two  MEN. 

"  Det  gar  sa  alltid,  att  det  gamla,  torra, 
Skall  lemma  rummet  at  det  unga,  friska." 
Oldur  in  "  Runesvardet" 

There  is  no  literary  amalgamation  of  Romantic  and  viking 
elements  during  the  Swedish  Romantic  period  that  makes  more 
fascinating  reading  than  "The  Runesword  and  the  First 
Knight"  (Runesvardet  och  den  forste  riddaren)  by  Karl 
August  Nicander.  "  The  Runesword,"  a  tragedy  in  four  acts, 
is  written  in  pentameter  and  appeared  in  1821  when  the  author 
was  but  twenty-one  years  old.  The  freshness,  the  remarkable 
imagery,  the  imagination  and  the  originality  displayed  in  the 
drama  won  even  TegneYs  hearty  admiration.  At  first  we  find 
a  pleasing  variety ;  full  descriptions  of  scenery  and  stage  direc- 
tions, lyrical  passages,  a  saga  in  prose,  a  mixture  of  monks  and 
warriors  in  the  list  of  dramatis  personae,  as  well  as  an  arch- 
bishop, a  king,  a  ghost,  and  a  champion,  presumably  heathen, 
with  the  omnious  name  of  Orm  (serpent).  On  closer  inspec- 
tion we  find  strong  dialogs,  sublime  monologs,  a  miracle,  a 
devil  disguised  as  a  monk,  and  an  old  doubting  weakling,  who 
attributes  the  failure  of  his  crops  to  his  recent  conversion. 
The  unities  are  disregarded ;  the  action  covers  a  period  of  over 
"three  hundred  days,"  the  tragedy  is  localized  in  the  vicinity 
of  Bjorko  and  Adelso  in  Sweden,  but  the  scenes  are  shifted 
frequently,  and  within  the  same  act.  We  can  hardly  speak  of 
any  unity  of  action,  for  there  are  too  many  important  charac- 
ters in  the  limelight,  and  Alrik,  "the  first  knight,"  is  too  im- 
petuous and  vacillating,  and  his  most  dramatic  maneuvers  are 
determined  too  much  by  external  circumstances  to  warrant  the 

144 


145 

name  of  a  strong  tragic  hero.  Often  peasants  are  introduced 
to  demonstrate  the  prevalent  division  of  sympathy  between  the 
old  gods  and  the  new  God,  and,  as  in  Act  II,  sc.  2,  to  show 
admiration  and  faith  in  their  leader,  the  nominal  heathen  but 
potential  Christian  Alrik.  The  nature-setting  throughout  is 
picturesque  and  impressive,  never  too  gaudy,  and  the  opening 
scene  would  do  justice  to  a  grand  opera.  Several  scenes  are  laid 
at  sunset  or  at  the  dead  of  night,  amid  lamps,  lanterns,  torches 
and  thunder  and  lightning,  and  offset  by  mental  disturbances 
in  the  souls  of  the  old,  confirmed  pagans  or  the  recently  con- 
verted Christians.  An  actual  or  assumed  intolerance  and  vio- 
lence on  the  part  of  the  monks,  and  the  spasmodic  berserker- 
rage  of  Alrik  alternate  with  scenes  of  the  deepest  melancholy, 
based  on  an  extreme  Catholic  system  of  religious  thought. 

There  could  hardly  be  a  tragic  theme  more  Romantic,  dra- 
matic, and  inexhaustible  than  the  conflict  between  a  medieval 
Christian  and  a  Norse  heathen.  Oehlenschlager  had  already 
treated  the  same  theme  in  "Hakon  Jarl,"  in  1807,  and  in  a 
letter  to  M.  v.  Schwerin,  dated  in  Lund,  October  4,  1821, 
Tegner  writes :  "  Several  years  ago  I  commenced  a  '  Blotsven/ 
which  was  to  represent  the  severe  struggle  between  Christianity 
and  heathenism.  A  glorious  theme:  the  decrepit  Asas  who 
stand  sponsors  at  the  baptism  of  the  North!"1  But  Tegner 
knew  he  was  no  dramatist  and,  according  to  this  letter,  threw 
both  Asas  and  monks  into  the  stove.  Nicander,  however,  had 
better  success  with  the  theme. 

At  the  opening  of  the  first  act,  a  dragon  ship  is  sailing  by 
in  the  distance,  at  sunset,  with  singing  vikings  upon  it,  and 
Oldur  is  seen  in  the  foreground,  on  the  shore,  grinding  his 
sword  and  lamenting  the  degeneration  of  the  viking.  Led  by 
Peregrinus,  a  band  of  Christian  catechumens  arrives:  Oldur 
refuses  to  respect  the  cross  and  is  ordered  to  be  bound  when 
his  son,  Alrik,  rushes  in  with  drawn  sword  and  "  eagle-helmet " 
upon  his  head  and  rescues  his  aged  father.  In  a  strong  and 
solemn  dialog  on  a  funeral  mound,  Alrik  takes  the  fateful 
vow  to  slay  that  one  of  his  race  who  first  forsakes  his  ancestral 
belief.  With  much  skill  Nicander  contrasts  here  viking  deeds 

1  Jubelfestupplaga,  V,  p.  233. 


146 

and  clash  of  arms  with  the  "  effeminate  children-songs,"  "  black 
books,"  and  "white  women's-clothes "  of  the  monks.  An  old 
man  and  recent  convert,  Edmund,  appears  to  protest  against 
the  new  confession ;  all  prosperity  has  left  him  since  he  changed 
his  faith;  he  stands  now  as  a  victim  of  two  angry  divine 
powers;  twelve  nights  of  song  and  prayer  have  been  of  no  avail, 
and  his  Christian  daughter  has  become  as  "  pale  as  the  flowers  " 
on  his  meadow.  Bishop  Ansgarius,  who  is  present,  points  with 
kindness,  comfort,  and  piety  to  the  land  above;  Edmund  is 
convinced,  rather  too  easily,  of  his  mistake  and  the  crowd  dis- 
perses in  the  darkness.  Then  comes  one  of  the  remarkable 
monologs  in  the  tragedy.  Peregrinus  appears  with  a  torch 
and  divulges  in  strophes  of  "gloomy  beauty"1  and  demonic 
power  his  true  character.  He  is  a  devil  sent  to  earth  to  "  de- 
story  the  cross  "  and  incite  hatred  between  the  contending  fac- 
tions. Then,  from  a  Romantic  brimstone  atmosphere  of  sighs, 
tears,  and  genuinely  satanic  reflections  the  scene  is  shifted  to 
Edmund's  peaceful  dwelling.  Here  the  pagan  Alrik  takes 
farewell  of  his  betrothed  Hulda,  Edmund's  daughter,  who  is 
a  super-devout  Christian.  After  Alrik's  departure,  Hulda 
upbraids  herself  to  her  father  for  a  "criminal"  love,  over- 
emphasizes a  guilt  which  is  mere  imagination  in  the  first  place, 
deems  herself  the  cause  of  her  father's  misfortune,  and,  finally, 
father  and  daughter  decide  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  holy 
sepulchre  to  win  peace  for  their  souls. 

In  the  meantime,  Peregrinus  has  been  faithful  to  his  satanic 
mission.  In  the  beginning  of  the  second  act,  a  temple  has  been 
burned  and  the  whole  city  barely  rescued  from  the  flames. 
Shortly  afterwards  a  woman  appears  carrying  a  dead  child  in 
her  arms,  and  we  are  given  to  understand  that  a  monk  had  bap- 
tized it  to  death  by  order  of  the  Bishop  (Ansgarius).  Both 
crimes  are  the  work  of  Peregrinus,  of  course,  and  the  impul- 
sive Alrik,  supported  by  a  large  group  of  followers,  is  deter- 
mined to  restore  the  religion  of  their  forefathers.  The  angry 
populace  is  pacified  temporarily,  however,  by  Folke  Lagman, 
in  whom  Nicander  has  attempted  to  create  an  ideal,  though 
somewhat  modern,  type  of  the  viking  lawyer  and  judge. 

i  Cf .  C.  D.  af  Wirsen:  Lefnadsteckningar,  Stockholm,  1901,  p.  185. 


147 

Folke  is  the  embodiment  of  wisdom,  and  in  clear  and  splendid 
language  urges  caution,  deliberation,  and  justice.  Crime  can- 
not be  cured  by  crime — a  modern  idea — is  Folke's  principle. 

"  Ju  langre  molnet  skockar  sig  och  svartnar, 
Dess  starkare  blir  thordon,  da  den  kommer.1 

Alrik  is  sitting  on  a  stone  below  a  chapel.  Ansgarius  comes 
out  and  Alrik  raises  his  sword  above  the  Bishop,  when  the 
mother  with  the  dead  child  appears,  and  the  would-be  assassin 
checks  himself  and  withdraws.  The  woman's  abusive  attacks 
on  the  Bishop  are  repaid  with  kindness  and  a  miracle  takes 
place  when  Ansgarius  places  his  hand  on  the  child's  head ;  the 
child  opens  his  eyes  and  lives  to  the  intense  astonishment  of 
both.  Alrik  has  been  a  distant  witness  of  the  dramatic  miracle 
and  is  deeply  affected,  but  strangely  enough  our  viking  Hamlet 
rushes  into  Oldur's  dwelling  soon  thereafter,  determined  to 
save  the  grandchildren  from  later  conversion  by  immediate 
slaughter.  Still  more  mysteriously  he  believes  he  can  carry 
out  the  provisions  of  his  horrible  oath  by  such  a  murder.  The 
only  possible  explanation  for  his  attitude  is  an  inner  despair, 
akin  to  madness,  occasioned  by  a  full  realization  of  his  own 
wavering  condition.  He  does  not  carry  out  his  dastardly  plan 
and  begs  his  father  to  take  back  the  runesword.  This  Oldur 
refuses  to  do,  reminding  him  of  his  fatal  oath. 

The  ten  scenes  of  the  third  act  prepare  the  way  for  Alrik's 
formal  conversion  and  for  the  Thing  which  is  to  decide  the  fate 
of  the  Christians.  The  monk,  Clemens,  teacher  of  Alrik,  is 
accosted  by  some  heathen  warriors  and  forced  to  give  up  his 
Bible.  The  old  Norsemen  are  struck  by  the  "  mysterious 
book,"  easily  interpret  its  illustrations  in  terms  of  their  own 
religion  and  decide  to  retain  the  book  as  evidence  against  the 
Christians.  In  the  second  and  third  scene  between  Oldur  and 
Folke,  and  between  the  father  and  the  son,  we  learn  something 
about  the  mental  struggles  of  Alrik,  but  not  enough,2  so  that 
the  hero's  sudden  enthusiasm  for  Christianity  later  seems  un- 

i "  The  longer  the  clouds  gather  and  darken,  the  more  violent  is  the 
thunder  when  it  comes."  See  Sc.  3.  Nicander:  Samlade  arbeten.  Tredje 
upplagan.  Senare  delen,  pp.  347-48.  All  references  are  to  this  edition. 

2  Cf.  Wirsen,  as  above,  p.  187. 


148 

natural,  even  if  he  has  never  been  a  very  strong  heathen.  The 
fourth  scene  shows  the  danger  of  the  Christian  missionaries, 
and  Clemens  urges  Ansgarius,  of  course  in  vain,  to  flee  before 
the  coming  Thing  is  held.  In  scene  7  we  see  Clemens  and 
Alrik  on  a  "  dark  night "  zealously  studying  the  Bible  in  Ed- 
mund's desolated  home  at  Adelso.  Edmund  himself  comes 
back  from  his  pilgrimage  with  a  message  from  his  dying 
daughter,  Alrik  rushes  out,  and  in  his  anguish  is  about  to  kill 
himself  when  Hulda's  ghost  appears  and  entreats  her  former 
lover  to  be  baptized.  At  sunrise  Alrik  is  a  Christian  convert. 
Tegner  liked  the  last  act  best.1  It  has  more  of  the  necessary 
dramatic  unity  and  concentration  than  the  remainder  of  the 
tragedy,  and  the  modern  biographer  Wirsen  rightly  character- 
izes the  opening  farewell  monolog,  where  Alrik  buries  his 
viking  armor  and  sword,  as  one  of  "  almost  sublime  power."2 
Peregrinus  has  been  a  silent  spectator  at  the  burial  of  Alrik's 
weapons.  He  urges  Orm,  who  is  of  Alrik's  stature,  to  dig  up 
and  don  the  armor  and,  thus  disguised  as  Alrik,  and  prompted 
by  Peregrinus,  to  fight  against  the  Christians.  Orm,  who  has 
an  almost  humorous  turn  of  mind,  is  ready  to  do  anything,  pro- 
vided he  does  not  have  to  think.3  The  next  few  scenes  take 
place  in  a  chapel  after  midnight,  when  Alrik  is  baptized  by 
Ansgarius,  gets  other  armor  from  the  Bishop,  and  becomes  a 
knight  of  the  cross.  Finally,  in  the  last  three  scenes  we  have 
the  Thing  in  the  open  air.  King  Olof  is  present  and  testi- 
monies are  heard.  All  atrocities  attributed  to  the  Christians 
point  to  one  man,  but  he  has  escaped,  a  rather  cowardly  and 
unnecessary  trick  for  a  devil  to  play,  for  the  one  perpetrator 
is,  of  course,  Peregrinus.  Upon  the  suggestion  of  a  wise 
peasant,  the  question  of  guilt  is  to  be  decided  in  mortal  combat 
between  two  representatives.  Naturally  Alrik  becomes  the 
champion  of  the  Christians,  and  Orm,  with  Alrik's  armor  and 
runesword,  of  the  heathen  and  the  gods  of  Valhalla.  In  the 
encounter  Orm  is  killed,  Oldur  picks  up  the  sword,  discovers 

1  Cf.  letter  to  M.  v.  Schwerin  of  April   i,    1821.     Jubelfestupplaga,  V, 
p.  223- 

2  Lefnadsteckningar,  p.  188. 

3  Sc.  2,  p.  419. 


149 

the  adversary  to  be  his  son  Alrik,  pierces  himself  and  is  about 
to  rush  at  Alrik,  when  the  latter  announces  that  he  has  already 
been  f ataly  wounded ;  the  runesword  had  performed  its  mission. 
The  sources  of  this  plot  are  not  very  extensive.  Wirsen 
points  out  that  we  must  not  expect  to  find  local  color  or  believe 
that  "The  Runesword"  gives  any  pronounced  Kulturbild.1 
Nicander's  studies  or  knowledge  of  human  life  cannot  have 
been  very  comprehensive  at  his  age,  and  this  may  account  for 
the  lack  of  firmness  in  some  characters.  But  we  are  wrong  to 
suppose  that  there  is  no  approximation  to  historical  truth  in 
"  The  Runesword."  Nicander  localizes  his  tragedy  at  Bjorko, 
puts  the  time  at  "about  850,"  and  introduces  King  Olof  and 
Archbishop  Ansgarius  (Anskar).  Now  both  of  these  are 
actual  historical  personages;  they  lived  "about  850"  on  or  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  island  of  Bjorko,  which  is  situated  about 
eighteen  English  miles  west  of  Stockholm;  and  many  other 
features  of  the  tragedy  have,  apparently,  a  more  definite  his- 
torical setting  than  is  ordinarily  supposed.  The  historical 
"Apostle  of  the  North"  remained  two  winters  at  Birka,  a 
prominent  port  on  Bjorko  in  Lake  Malar,  on  his  first  mission- 
ary trip  to  Germany  in  831  A.  D.,  "  in  order  to  report  progress 
to  the  emperor."2  "Anskar,  whose  personal  interest  in  the 
mission  (i.e., in  Sweden)  still  continued, came  again  to  Sweden 
in  848  A.  D.,  in  the  time  of  a  king  called  Olof,  and  remained 
fortabout  the  same  time  as  before."3  This  was  two  years, 
which  would  put  the  end  of  his  second  stay  at  "  about  850,"  the 
date  set  for  the  drama.  Edmund's  complaint  in  Act  I,  sc.  4, 
that  the  old  gods  were  probably  angry  with  him  for  being  con- 
verted, seems  to  be  more  than  a  mere  brainstorm,  historically, 
and  the  same  is  true  of  the  introduction  of  King  Eric's  image 
in  Act  II,  scenes  I  and  2.  The  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  in  his 
recent  lectures  on  "The  National  Church  in  Sweden,"  writes, 
with  respect  to  Anskar's  second  visit  to  Sweden :  "  Complaint 
was  made  that  the  .(heathen)  gods  were  angry  because  their 

1  Lefnadsteckningar,  p.  191. 

2  John  Wordsworth,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  The  National  Church  of  Swe- 
den  (The  Hale  Lectures,   1910),  London  and  Oxford,  England,  and  Mil- 
waukee, U.  S.  A.,  1911,  p.  52. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  54. 
11 


150 

sacrifices  were  neglected;  and  an  enthusiast  came  forward  to 
announce  a  vision  which  he  had  received  from  the  gods  for- 
bidding the  people  to  deify  their  late  king,  Eric."1  And  there 
is  historical  justification  for  the  Thing  in  the  last  act  of  "  The 
Runesword,"  for  Bishop  Wordsworth  goes  on  to  say :  "  On 
Anskar's  (second)  arrival  the  king  and  his  nobles  determined 
to  ask  counsel  of  the  gods  as  to  whether  the  mission  should  be 
encouraged  or  not.  .  .  .  On  this  occasion  it  (the  consultation, 
by  lot,  with  the  gods,)  was  favorable  to  Anskar.  After  this  the 
question  was  put  before  two  public  assemblies,  probably  one  at 
Birka  and  one  at  Uppsala."2  The  historical  Anskar  was  as 
saintly  and  fearless  as  Nicander  depicts  him  and  we  may  well 
imagine  him  in  such  a  danger  as  the  monk  Clemens  describes 
in  Act  III,  scenes  4—5,  even  in  Sweden.  Anskar  had  to  flee 
for  his  life  in  845,  when  the  Northmen,  under  King  Eric,  plun- 
dered Hamburg.  That  the  old  vikings  were  especially  fond 
of  telling  stories,  as  Oldur  does  to  his  grandchildren  in  Act  II, 
sc.  7,  is  historically  correct.  That  pilgrimages  to  the  holy 
land  were  taken,  as  in  the  case  of  Edmund  and  his  daughter, 
is  mentioned  in  the  saga  literature  by  Snorre  Sturleson,  such 
as  the  saga  of  Sigurd  Jorsalafarare.  Nicander  did  well  to 
localize  his  drama  on  Bjorko;  such  grave-mounds  as  are  men- 
tioned in  it,  and  on  one  of  which  Alrik  takes  his  fatal  vow,  are 
said  to  be  extremely  numerous  on  Bjorko  to  this  day. 

It  is  tolerably  clear  that  Nicander  had  already  studied  Old 
Norse  history  to  a  considerable  extent  when  he  wrote  "  The 
Runesword,"  but  it  is  difficult  to  name  his  actual  sources. 
We  may  say  that  all  the  sagas  which  Nicander  had  read  con- 
tributed to  the  setting  of  the  tragedy,  and  out  of  the  composite 
material  the  poet  created  his  types,  chose  his  environment,  and 
invented  his  plot.  As  far  as  I  know,  no  other  characters  in 
"The  Runesword"  have  definite  historical  prototypes  than 
those  mentioned.  Beyond  these  we  have  to  accept  the  author's 
words  in  the  dedication : 

1  Ibid.,  p.  55. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  55. 


151 

Ur  inga  bocker  jag  mitt  amne  hamtat, 

All  verdslig  sanning  bar  jag  bar  forsakat  , 

Och  endast  sokt  det  andeligen  sanna.1 

One  might  expect  from  this  dedication,  which  commences 
with  the  beginning  of  St.  John's  Gospel  and  is  dedicated  to 
Almighty  God  himself,  that  the  tragedy  was  to  show  the  victory 
of  Christianity  over  paganism.  Nicander  says :  "  But  the  word 
of  the  Lord  was  triumphant."2  In  the  development  of  his 
drama,  however,  his  sympathy  for  the  rough  and  ready  Norse- 
man is  so  striking  as  to  become  a  mild  glorification  of  viking- 
ism,  and,  to  my  mind,  he  succeeds  best  in  the  portrayal  of  the 
viking  element.  And  that  a  Scandinavian  youth  of  twenty-one 
should  be  thus  inclined  is  natural.  The  tone  of  "  The  Rune- 
sword"  becomes  almost  didactic;  the  reader  must  feel  the 
underlying  plea  for  tolerance  toward  the  old  religion  of  the 
Northmen.  Nicander  seems  to  say — and  it  could  not  be  wholly 
unconscious — that  religion,  per  se,  is  deeper  than  either  Chris- 
tianity or  Valhalla  worship.  Consequently  the  main  difference 
was  not  so  large,  after  all,  and  was  largely  one  of  interpreta- 
tion. To  the  heathen  warrior  in  Act  III,  sc.  I,  many  illustra- 
tions in  Clemens's  Bible  fit  surprisingly  well  into  his  own  reli- 
gious conceptions.  He  opens  the  book  and  exclaims,  in  part: 

Har  star  ju  Brage  sjelf  med  gyllne  harpan; 

Der  Thor,  med  portarna  vid  Jotunhem 

Pa  ryggen ;  se,  der  har  ban  Midgardsormen, 

Vill  slita  upp  dess  gap  med  gudastyrka. 

Nu  kommer  Valhalls  sal,  sa  hog  och  praktig; 

Der  ser  man  ljusastakan  sta  pa  bordet 

Med  gyllne  armar  jemte  mjodets  karl, 

Och  Oden  sjelf,  i  djupa  tankar  sankt, 

I  gullskrud  och  med  brostlapp,  holjd  af  perlor,  .  .  .  3 

i "  I  have  not  taken  my  theme  from  any  books,  I  have  renounced  all 
worldly  truth  here,  and  only  sought  the  spiritually  true." 

2  See  dedication,  p.  294. 

3 "  Why  here  stands  Brage  himself  with  the  golden  harp :  there  Thor 
with  the  gates  of  Jotunheim  upon  his  back ;  behold,  there  he  has  the 
Midgard-Serpent,  and  is  about  to  tear  open  his  jaws  with  the  strength  of 
a  god.  Now  comes  the  hall  of  Valhalla,  so  high  and  splendid :  there  one 
sees  the  candlestick  stand  on  the  table  with  golden  arms,  together  with  the 
vessel  for  the  mead,  and  Odin  himself  in  deep  thought  in  golden  garments, 
and  with  breast-protector,  adorned  with  pearls."  See  p.  376. 


152 


And  further: 


Se  Balder,  hvar  han  ligger  blek  och  dod, 
Och  Nanna  star  vid  baren  stum  och  grater, 
Mig  tyckes  verlden  dod;  sa  tyst  och  kalt 
Ar  allt  omkring  den  fallna  gudasonen.1 

The  last  scene  has  a  broad-minded  tone  of  equality  and  recon- 
ciliation which  may  be  taken  as  the  teaching  of  the  tragedy. 
With  genuine  sympathy  for  ancestral  worship,  expressed  in 
a  beautiful  language  with  a  poetico-Romantic  conception  of 
spirits  meeting  after  death,  King  Olof  voices  the  sentiments  of 
the  poet  in  these  verses : 

Jag  reder  Far  och  Son  tva  skilda  hogar: 
Planterar  korset  uppa  Alriks  graf ; 
Jag  detta  svard  vill  pa  den  andra  satta. 
Helt  nara  de  bredvid  hvarandra  hvile, 
Att  deras  valnader  i  stjernenatten 
Ma,  sittande  pa  hvar  sin  egen  hog, 
Hvarandra  handen  racka  till  forsoning.2 

It  is  important  to  observe  the  style  and  dramatic  technic  of 
"  The  Runesword."  The  meter  is  almost  perfect,  for  Nicander 
had  a  good  feeling  for  form,  and  the  language  is  clear  and 
simple.  Even  ghost-scenes  are  objectively  portrayed.  Rime 
is  frequently  employed — a  characteristic  which  is  incompatible 
with  the  Old  Norse  theme3 — and  the  style  betokens  the  mind 
of  a  genius.  The  tragedy  is  rather  long  to  be  put  on  the  stage ; 
in  its  original  form,  in  the  third  edition  of  Nicander's  works, 
it  covers  159  octavo  pages  of  actual  drama,  and  a  condensation 
would,  I  believe,  spoil  its  beauty.  As  far  as  I  have  been  able 
to  determine,  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  play  "  The  Rune- 

1 "  Behold  Balder,  where  he  lies  pale  and  dead,  and  Nanna  stands  silent 
beside  the  bier  and  weeps.  The  world  seemeth  dead  to  me :  so  quiet  and 
so  cold  is  everything  around  the  fallen  son  of  god  "  (meaning  to  the  viking, 
son  of  a  god,  or  any  god). 

2  "  I  will  prepare  two  separate  mounds  for  father  and  son  (Oldur  and 
Alrik)  ;  plant  the  cross  upon  Alrik's  grave ;  and  place  this  sword  upon  the 
other.  May  they  rest  right  close  to  one  another  so  that  their  ghosts,  sitting 
upon  their  respective  mounds  in  the  starlit  night,  may  extend  their  hands 
to  one  another  for  reconciliation." 

s  Cf.  Wirsen :  Lefnadsteckningar,  p.  191. 


153 

sword,"  and  one  reason  must  be  its  lack  of  sufficient  concen- 
tration. But  it  has  numerous  genuinely  dramatic  parts,  plenty 
of  action,  and  with  its  setting  and  tragic  effects  should  furnish 
an  excellent  basis  for  a  grand  opera.  Poor  motivation  pre- 
vents a  strongly  knit  dramatic  structure  of  the  work  as  a  whole. 
Oldur's  hatred  of  the  monks  is  motivated,  in  part,  by  personal 
reasons,  and  he  is,  therefore,  not  attached  to  paganism  with 
strong  enough  bonds.  That  Alrik  and  his  betrothed  should 
have  to  part  seems  absurd,  even  to  an  extreme  ascetic  Christian. 
Both  contemporary1  and  later1  critics  have  applied  the  Shake- 
sperian  standard  of  motivation  to  Alrik  in  "  The  Runesword" 
with  much  severity.  And  rightly  so,  if  we  have  the  right  to 
apply  such  standards  at  all,  in  this  case.  The  conversion  of  the 
new  Hamlet  is  determined  by  the  appearance  of  a  real  ghost, 
and  his  death  brought  about  by  what  seems  almost  like  mere 
chance,  and  in  reality  is  the  work  of  Peregrinus.  But,  for 
what  Nicander  undoubtedly  intended,  the  motivation  is  better 
than  one  might  suppose  at  first.  After  Alrik's  fatal  vow,  which 
he  makes  with  a  tragic  impulsiveness,  the  vow  takes  care  of 
itself  and  the  real  hero  after  that  is  the  runesword  itself.  We 
have  here  a  kind  of  fate-tragedy,  half  Greek  and  half  Wer- 
nerian,  where  an  incomprehensible  something  guides  a  mechan- 
ical instrument  until  it  has  concluded  its  tragic  mission.  And 
then,  also,  as  Wirsen  points  out,2  the  old  sagas  often  attributed 
an  independent,  mysterious  power  to  swords.  From  a  strictly 
dramatic  viewpoint,  the  interference  of  supernatural  charac- 

il  refer  in  particular  to  the  enthusiastic  recension  of  the  tragedy  in 
Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning  for  1821,  Nos.  17  and  18.  This  review,  now 
known  to  have  been  written  by  Palmblad,  was  formerly  attributed  to  Atter- 
bom  and  is  printed  in  Atterbom :  Literara  karakteristiker  (Vol.  7  of  Sam- 
lade  skrifter,  Orebro,  1870),  pp.  282ff.  By  the  modern  critic  I  refer  to 
Wirsen:  Cf.  Lefnadsteckningar,  pp.  189-90.  In  the  above  review,  Palm- 
blad criticizes  the  whole  invention  of  Peregrinus,  whom  he  calls  a  "  stupid 
devil,"  as  interfering  with  the  free  will  and  individuality  of  the  hero. 
Palmblad  also  queries  whether  Nicander  should  have  allowed  the  monks  to 
attack  Oldur,  for  the  missionaries  were  in  enough  danger  as  it  was.  Again 
Palmblad  does  not  believe  that  Anskar  had  an  armor,  for  he  was  already 
bishop  when  he  came  to  Sweden.  Cf.  review,  p.  291.  Yet  the  reviewer 
admits  he  had  not  read  this  tragedy  without  tears,  p.  286.  Palmblad  men- 
tions Oldur's  personal  reasons  for  his  hatred  of  the  monks. 

2  Lefnadsteckningar,  p.  189. 


154 

ters,  however,  such  as  the  weak  but  interesting  devil  Peregrinus, 
is,  I  presume,  a  technical  fault. 

But  we  have  to  analyze  "  The  Runesword  "  as  it  is,  and  not 
as  unrelenting  critics  think  it  ought  to  be.  We  are  not  dealing 
with  a  stereotyped  Shakesperian  drama  but  with  a  lyrico-Ro- 
mantic  tragedy,  with  epic  breadth  and  examples  of  some  really 
good  poetry.  "  The  Runesword  "  is  a  Romantic  version  of  a 
composite  saga,  where  the  two  important  constituents  are  the 
Romantic  and  the  saga  element.  It  remains  for  us  to  examine 
these  two  constituents. 

Wirsen  declares  that  Nicander  did  not  belong  to  the  New 
School  ;x  Tegner  says  he  did,2  and  that  he  had  many  of  the  "  bad 
habits  and  oddities  "  of  the  New  Movement.  It  all  depends 
on  the  meaning  one  attaches  to  the  phrase  "  New  School."  If 
by  the  New  School  we  mean  the  more  narrow,  militant  circle 
of  the  Fosforists,  then  Wirsen  is  right;  for  Nicander  was  not 
a  formally  enrolled  member  of  any  school  when  "  The  Rune- 
sword "  was  written.  But  as  soon  as  we  penetrate  below  the 
surface  of  the  matter  we  shall  have  to  stamp  "  The  Runesword  " 
as  a  Romantic  product,  even  in  the  restricted  sense.  Nor  do  I 
base  the  claim  upon  the  fact  that  Nicander  contributed  to  the 
Fosforistic  organ  Poetisk  Kalender?  Wirsen  himself  has  to 
admit  at  least  temporary  "  influences  of  a  new-Romantic  con- 
ception,"4 and  calls  Edmund  "  a  complete  new-Romantic  crea- 
tion, unintelligible  in  his  fantasticalness,  his  weakness,  his 
insanity,  and  unfortunately,  also,  in  his  piety."5  "  But,"  Wirsen 
goes  on  to  say,  "  such  a  disease  was  a  part  of  the  new-Romantic 
temper,"  and  then  ascribes  this  characteristic  of  the  "melo- 
dramatic" and  "medieval"  portrayal  of  "hoary  antiquity" 
to  the  influence  of  Fouque.  Tegner,  in  his  important  letter  to 

1  Ibid.,  p.  193. 

2  Letter  to  M.  v.  Schwerin  of  April  i,  1821.     Jubelfestupplaga,  V,  p.  222. 

3  Wirsen   attributes  the  "  misconception "   of  regarding   Nicander  as  a 
member   of  the   New   School   to   the   fact  that  he   contributed   a  poem  to 
Poetisk  Kalender.     The  poem  in  question  was  "Song  of  Loyalty"  (Trohets- 
Sang),  inserted  in  the  Kalender  for  1820,  p.  211.     Cf.  Lefnadsteckningar, 
p.   193,  and  note. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  193. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  189. 


155 

Nicander  himself,1  criticises  "die  romantische  Breite,"  which 
represented  an  epic  rather  than  an  action,  prevented  concen- 
tration, and  was  a  mirror  rather  than  a  focus  of  history.  Then, 
too,  he  objected  to  the  mysticism — in  this  case  synonymous 
with  the  supernatural — which,  with  its  "misty  and  hollow- 
eyed  forms,"  had  always  been  repulsive  to  him.  And,  indeed, 
the  tragedy  has  an  extensive  Romantic  pot-pourri  of  miracles, 
medieval  conversions,  ghosts,  tears,  forebodings,  longing,  super- 
stition, feeling,  "indescribable  anxiety,"  and  Stimmungen. 
Hulda  is  as  much  of  a  Romantic  product  as  her  father,  only 
worse.  With  her,  religion  has  become  a  fatal  disease,  and  her 
mystic  reflections  on  the  cross  and  the  Holy  Virgin  remind  one 
of  Brentano's  Catholicizing  "  Rosenkranz."  There  is  no  Fos- 
foristic  obscurantism  in  "  The  Runesword,"  but  many  words 
and  expressions  remind  one  of  the  New  School;  such  as:  lil- 
jeklockan  (the  lily-clock)  ;  evighetens  rosenverld  (the  rose- world 
of  eternity)  ;  Guds  renhets  sinnebild  (the  symbol  of  God's  pur- 
ity) ;  rosenbindel  (rose-bandage)  ;  Gudars  silverport  (the  sil- 
ver-gate of  the  gods)  ;  evighetens  rosenband  (the  rose-band  of 
eternity)  ;  silfverglans  (silver-luster)  ;  silfverkulle  (silver-hil- 
lock) ;  and  liljekinder  (lily-cheeks).2  The  night  and  the  moon3 
play  a  prominent  role  in  "  The  Runesword "  and  envelop  the 
action  in  a  semi- fantastic,  Romantic  haze  a  la  Tieck.  Edmund 
says :  "  The  time  of  my  wanderings  is  at  night,  when  dark- 
ness comes  from  the  sea,  and  spreads  its  mantle  over  the  island, 
and  conceals  my  misery."4  Nicander  employs  at  times  a  South- 
ern verse-form,  the  ottave-rime,  in  "  The  Runesword,"  another 
mechanical  feature  common  to  the  program-makers  of  the  new 
movement.  And  lastly,  the  fact  itself  that  the  tragedy  is  poet- 
ical and  lyrical  rather  than  strictly  dramatic,  points  towards  a 
new-Romantic  relationship. 

I  have  already  stated5  that  Nicander  was  most  successful  in 
the  portrayal  of  the  saga  element,  and  this  because  the  drama- 

1  Letter  of  February  9,  1827.     Jubelfestupplaga,  VI,  pp.  68-71. 

2  Cf.  Arbeten,  pp.  313,  320,  323,  324,  350,  354,  406,  and  408,  respectively, 

3  Cf.  Arbeten,  pp.  321,  323,  324,  325,  328,  329,  374,  409,  and  410. 
*  Act  I,  sc.  7. 

5  Cf.  above  in  this  chapter,  p.  151. 


156 

tist,  better  than  any  other,  felt  the  tragic  sympathy  which  should 
lie  with  the  heathen  in  this  case.  The  result  is  that  Alrik  is 
best  as  a  pagan,  or  when  he  shows  viking  tendencies,  and  his 
father  Oldur  Silverbeard,  is  the  most  masterfully  drawn  char- 
acter. But  the  viking  characteristics,  in  either  case,  are  of  a 
merely  general  type  and  Oldur  has  but  few  individual  traits. 
Oldur  is  an  idealized  composite  image  of  the  saga  age,  as  Nican- 
der  imagined  it  from  his  necessarily  limited  reading.  The  "beau- 
tiful viking  life,"  "  a  song  upon  the  sea,"  the  "  faithful  sword," 
and  the  conception  that  a  "  life  full  of  exploits  is  more  beauti- 
ful than  death,"  enter  into  the  program  of  any  heathen  pirate, 
and  so  it  does  into  Oldur's.1  As  a  youth  he  was  a  man  of 
action  who  could  oppose  ten2  in  combat,  and  who  in  his  old  age 
regrets  that  his  sword  is  rusty  with  old  blood  and  can  draw  no 
new.  Oldur  evinces  the  traditional  Northern  defiance  of 
death :  "  Slay  me,"  he  tells  Peregrinus  in  Act  I,  scene  2,  "  then 
you  can  seat  yourself  on  my  body  and  sing  the  song  of  ravens 
and  plunder  unhampered."  Throughout  the  drama  he  remains 
the  respected,  inflexible  champion  of  the  old  Scandinavian  gods 
and  at  the  end  dies  on  the  runesword  by  his  own  hand,  as  a 
viking  should  if  not  killed  in  battle.  "  It  is  better  to  die  in 
work  or  action  than  to  go  to  sleep  on  the  death-bed  under  a 
roof,"  exclaims  Oldur  in  Act  II,  sc.  2.  For  him  the  age  of  com- 
bat and  victory,  when  the  song  and  "the  magic  staff  of  the 
saga,"  refreshed  the  warrior  for  new  exploits,  was  the  glorious 
period.3  In  his  invocation  to  his  son  in  Act  I,  sc.  3,  there 
comes  a  plea  for  the  "  clang  of  swords  "  at  the  funeral-mounds 
of  his  forefathers,  for  the  "  saga  traditions,"  for  the  "  godlike  " 
unity  of  will  and  power,  deed  and  council  in  life,  and  for  the 
inheritance  of  manliness  and  the  "golden  runes  of  Odin." 
Again,  in  Act  II,  sc.  8,  he  advises  Alrik :  "  but  above  all,  tread 
the  righteous  path  of  the  gods  and  observe  the  wise  judgments 
of  the  norns."  Oldur  is  a  man  of  experience,  not  only  in 

1  Cf.  Act  I,  sc.  i. 

2  Cf.  Act  I,  sc.  2. 

3  Cf.  Act  IV,  sc.  9.     The  combination  of  song  and  battle  is  also  repre- 
sented by  the  First  Peasant  in  Act  IV,  sc.  7.     He  says :  "  A  blow  upon  the 
shield  and  a  grip  about  the  sword  produce  a  glorious  harmony  with  the 
song  of  the  skald ;  they  give  weight  and  power  to  what  is  spoken." 


157 

deeds,  which  might  be  true  of  any  Norseman,  but  also  in  higher 
culture.  He  urges  Folke,  Act  II,  sc.  2,  to  give  him  the  captured 
Christian  Bible,  for  he  claims  a  good  knowledge  of  the  "  signs 
of  the  runes  and  other  symbols."  He  is  a  lover  of  freedom 
— nothing  could  be  more  true  of  the  pagan  sea-rovers —  and 
in  the  same  scene  (Act  II,  sc.  2)  he  says  to  Folke:  "We 
must  act  as  free  men."  Again  at  the  end  of  the  same  dialog, 
he  boldly  and  resolutely  expresses  preference  for  immediate 
action,  for  "  war  with  the  tongue  is  not  the  art  of  the  Sviars 
(Swedes)."  The  old  saga-heroes,  in  their  escapades,  were,  of 
course,  candid  and  fearless,  often  horribly  so,  and  were  seldom 
touched  by  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  life.  Such  is  Oldur,  and 
yet  he  rends  his  clothes  (Act  II,  sc.  8)  when  Alrik  is  about 
to  murder  his  grandchildren  and  justly  exclaims:  "Oh,  woe, 
what  horror!  My  son  a  wolf,  my  house  a  den  of  murders." 
In  other  words,  there  is  a  trace  of  sympathy  for  the  defense- 
less kinsman,  though  the  nature  of  the  drama  excludes  a  well- 
rounded  picture  of  viking  loyalty  among  kindred  folk.  Neither 
are  there  any  adventurous  dealings  with  women,  in  "  The  Rune- 
sword,"  showing  the  traditional  Norse  respect  for  and  pro- 
tection of,  the  weaker  sex:  for,  the  real  representative  Oldur 
is  only  a  retired  viking,  too  old  to  engage  in  a  Brautfahrt.  He  is, 
like  Gotz  v.  Berlichingen,  the  victim  of  an  advancing  civilization 
for  which  he  has  the  greatest  contempt,  but,  unlike  Gotz,  is  too 
old  to  wage  war  against  the  new  ideas.  But  the  viking  sturdi- 
ness,  wisdom  and  brevity  of  speech  still  remain.  His  language 
is  often  figurative,  always  forceful.  Compare,  for  instance, 
Oldur's  appeal  to  the  multitude,  which  Nicander  means  to  be 
typical : 

Lang  somnen  var :  Tid  ar  att  vakna,  Manner ! 
Mig  tyckes  se,  hur  stridens  unga  6'rn 
Sin  starka  ram  kring  edra  hjertan  spanner, 
Och  modet  reser  sig  som  varens  bjorn. 
Upp !  reten  den  mot  f  rihetens  ovanner, 
Som  kommit  hit  fran  verldens  sodra  horn. 

(Act  II,  sc.  2)1 

i  "  The  sleep  was  long :  It  is  time  to  awake,  men  !  Methinks  I  see  how 
the  young  eagle  of  combat  embraces  your  hearts  with  its  strong  claw  and 
courage  springs  up  like  the  bear  in  spring.  Up!  rouse  him  against  the 


158 

Further,  Oldur,  true  to  Old  Norse  convictions,  believes  in  the 
divine  sanction  and  guidance  of  warriors  on  the  battle-field. 
In  this  same  scene  he  incites  his  heroes  to  action  by  these  words : 
"You  still  have  sword,  helmet  and  shield;  All-father  himself 
goes  with  you  to  battle.  Illusion  shall  yield.  The  eye  of 
Odin  radiates  light  and  truth  from  on  high."  Storm  and  the 
sea  are  Oldur's  elements  ;x  and  last,  but  not  least,  for  our  pur- 
pose, Oldur  is  a  Romantic  personification  of  loyalty  to  father- 
land-traditions and  enthusiasm  for  the  saga  age.  For  him  the 
traditions  of  the  past  are  sacred;  he  tells  his  grandchild: 

Ett  sager  jag:  hvad  som  af  aider  varit, 
Ar  heligt,  barn !  ma  ingen  gacka  det !  "2 

None  of  the  gruesome  murder,  plunder,  or  burning,  attrib- 
uted to  the  viking  marauders,  is  perpetrated  in  "  The  Rune- 
sword  "  by  the  pagans.  The  nearest  we  have  to  it  is  that 
powerful  scene  (II,  8)  between  Alrik,  Oldur,  and  the  grand- 
children. Thore  is  somewhat  unnatural,  it  seems  to  me ;  though 
but  a  child,  he  has  the  same  utter  disdain  for  death  as  a  veteran 
fighter.  He  would  willingly  die,  provided  the  fatal  blow  is  not 
made  in  wrath;  he  is  willing  to  die  in  combat  but  not  to  be 
butchered.  In  this  scene,  however,  Alrik  becomes,  potentially, 
a  wild  and  cruel  berserk  and  champion  of  the  old  religion; 
he  would  slay  the  youngsters  while  they  are  still  able  to  enu- 
merate the  old  gods  and  because  "  innocent  blood  is  agreeable 
to  the  Asas."  "  To-night  I  am  your  true  image,"  he  ejaculates 
to  his  father,  "  I  want  blood,  and  in  that  the  wolf -ancestry  of 
the  wolf  is  recognized."3  He  draws  his  sword  and  addresses 
his  young  nephews : 

Knabb'jen,  barn!  nu  vandren  I  till  Oden. 

Jag  ser,  ni  bafven  ej  for  sista  resan. 

Friskt  mod,  ren  blick  annu  I  dodens  timma, 

enemies  of  freedom  who  have  come  hither  from  the  Southern  corner  of 
the  world." 

1  Cf.  Oldur's  words  to  his  son  in  Act  III,  sc.  3  :  "  Wind  was  my  delight 
in  my  younger  days." 

2  Act  II,  sc.  7.     "  One  thing  I  say :  whatever  has  existed  in  the  past 
is  sacred,  child  !     May  no  one  ridicule  it !  " 

3  See  edition,  as  in  note  i,  p.  147,  p.  369. 


159 

Och  uppratt  hufvud,  karlafarg  pa  kinden : 
Det  ar  en  Svears  sed  att  sa  se  ut. 
Vak  upp  i  Valhall,  oppna  silfverporten ! 
Tva  gudabarn  dig  gasta,  store  Oden  I1 

Critics  have  assumed  an  influence  of  Fouque  and  Oehlen- 
schlager  on  "  The  Runesword."2  Fouque  was  much  admired 
in  Uppsala  about  1820,  and  his  themes  from  Norse  mythology 
were  undoubtedly  well  known.  "  Sintram  und  seine  Gefahr- 
ten,"  based  on  a  Northern  saga,  had  appeared  in  1814;  "Die 
Fahrten  Thiodulfs  des  Islanders,"  in  1815;  and  "Sigurd  der 
Schlangentodter  "  as  early  as  1808.  Several  translations  from 
Fouque  had  been  made  also  during  the  second  decade  of  the 
century.  I  find  in  Sonden's  edition  of  "  Svenska  vitterheten  "3 
by  Hammarskjold  that  some  of  Fouque's  novels  were  trans- 
lated into  Swedish  in  1816  by  a  B.  J.  Torneblad,  "Undine"  in 
1819,  and  "  Eginhard  und  Emma"  by  G.  Schentz  in  1817. 
There  is  no  doubt,  then,  that  Fouque  was  studied  in  Sweden 
about  this  time.  Atterbom  and  Livijn  knew  him  well.  But 
his  direct  influence  on  Nicander  cannot  be  determined  with  any 
certainty  and  was  probably  only  of  a  general  character.  The 
Gothic  tendencies  had  already  a  firm  foothold  in  Sweden,  and 
so  Fouque  could,  in  this  particular,  at  the  most,  only  intensify 
an  impulse  which  already  existed.  But  the  influence  of  medi- 
evalism is  probable.  There  are  some  striking  similarities  also 
in  the  internal  plan  and  conceptions  between  "The  Runesword" 
and  "  Thiodulf  des  Islanders."  The  setting  in  both  cases  is  at 
the  dawn  of  Christianity,  the  hero  Thiodulf  wavers  between 
Christ  and  Odin  much  as  Alrik  does,  and  in  the  end  is  baptized 
and  becomes  a  Christian.  Then  we  have  also  the  same  broad- 
minded  fundamentals  in  Fouque's  novel  as  in  Nicander's  trag- 

1  "  Kneel,  children.     Now  you  travel  to  Odin.     I  see  that  you  do  not 
fear  the  last  journey.     Fresh  courage,  clear  vision,  even  in  the  moment  of 
death,  and  head  upright,  with  manly  color  on  your  cheeks ;  it  is  the  custom 
of  Svears  to  have  that  expression.     Wake  up  in  Valhalla,  open  the  silver- 
gate  !     Two  god-like  children  will  be  your  guests,  great  Odin  !  " 

2  See  above,  p.  13.  Wirsen  :     Lefnadsteckningar,  p.  190.     Cf .  also  Henrik 
Schuck  och  Karl  Warburg:  Illustrerad  svensk-litteraturhistoria,  II,  p.  757. 

3  See  list  of  Bibliography. 


160 

edy:  that  the  difference  between  the  two  contending  religions 
was  one  merely  of  interpretation  and  that,  as  such,  the  two 
might  well  exist  side  by  side.  Both  are  a  plea  for  sympathy 
with  the  saga-period,  its  religion,  and  people. 

More  plausible,  to  me,  is  the  influence  of  Oehlenschlager  on 
"  The  Runesword."  Oehlenschlager  had  more  of  the  viking 
in  him  than  Nicander  and  had  already  treated  the  same  theme 
dramatically,  at  least  twice.  "  Hakon  Jarl "  (1805)  and  "  Pal- 
natoke,"  written  in  Paris  in  1807  and  published  and  played  two 
years  later,  both  depict  the  struggle  between  Norse  paganism 
and  Christianity/and  the  heroes  are,  in  both  cases,  champions 
of  the  gods  of  Valhalla.  Hakon  and  Palnatoke  both  die,  like 
Alrik,  by  the  hand  of  another,  and  in  "  Palnatoke  "  as  in  "  The 
Runesword,"  fate  guiding  another's  hand  kills  the  hero.  Hakon 
dies  at  his  own  request  like  a  viking,  pierced  by  Karker's  spear, 
and,  similarly,  Oldur  in  "The  Runesword"  dies  voluntarily, 
though  by  his  own  hand.  "Hakon  Jarl"  has  a  treacherous 
emissary,  Thorer,  who  corresponds  somewhat  to  the  satanic 
emissary  Peregrinus  in  "  The  Runesword."  In  the  last  part 
of  the  drama  Hakon  Jarl  is  as  zealous  a  champion  of  the  Old 
Norse  ideals  and  religion  as  Oldur,  and  there  is  a  supernatural 
element  in  both  works..  In  "  Hakon  Jarl "  Auden  (Odin)  him- 
self appears  and  explains  his  cult  to  Olof  Tryggvason,  showing 
a  difference  of  interpretation  of  religion — as  Nicander  pro- 
posed to  show — due  to  climatic  conditions.1  The  ideal  hea- 
then, as  pictured  in  "  Palnatoke,"  appears  again  in  Oldur ; 
he  means  what  he  says  and  never  retracts  a  word.  In  "  Pal- 
natoke "  we  have  a  Christian  bishop  Popo  who  speaks  of  a 
miracle ;  in  "  The  Runesword "  we  have  Bishop  Anskar  who 
performs  one. 

It  will  be  in  order  here  to  mention  another,  more  definite 
phase  of  Nicander's  interest  in  the  saga  element.  On  the  3Oth 
of  April,  1822,  Nicander  was  elected  to  membership  in  the 
Gothic  Forbund.  He  proved  to  be  of  more  than  usually  good 

1  The  influence  of  Montesquieu  and  also  of  Rousseau  is  more  marked 
in  the  Danish  dramatist  than  in  Nicander.  Snorre  Sturleson  mentions  in 
the  saga  of  Olof  Tryggvason,  Chap.  71,  that  Odin  visited  Olof,  but  there 
is  no  mention  made  of  any  religious  discussion. 


161 

Gothic  material  and  seemed  to  be  the  only  one  of  its  members 
who  took  the  prescribed  inauguration  paper  seriously.  Many 
of  the  "  Goths  "  were  utterly  ignorant  of  Old  Norse  affairs — 
as  is  shown  in  the  superficial  characterizations  of  their  ancestral 
namesakes — but  Nicander,  as  Norna-Gest  in  the  Gothic  Soci- 
ety, gave  a  beautiful  and  intelligent  biography  of  the  semi- 
historical  skald  and  warrior  Norna-Gest,  especially  as  guest 
(Gest)  of  Olof  Tryggvason.1  The  biography  is  very  enthusi- 
astic and  effective,  simple  yet  rhetorical,  solemn  and  dignified, 
sane  and  in  excellent  language.  Here,  then,  Nicander  took  an 
exhaustive  interest  in  a  definite  saga,  that  of  Norna-Gest. 

The  Norna-Gest  Saga  was  the  inspiration  also  of  one  of 
Nicander's  early  poems,  called  "  Norna-Gest."  It  is  divided 
into  three  parts:  "The  Arrival  of  the  Guest"  (Gasten  kom- 
mer);  "The  Fighting  of  the  Drunkards  in  the  Hall"  (De 
drucknas  strid  i  salen)  ;  and"  The  Power  of  the  Harp  "  (Harp- 
ans  makt) .  Only  the  setting  is  taken  from  the  original  and  the 
development  of  the  theme  is  almost  wholly  an  invention  of  the 
poet.  But  there  is  an  echo  of  saga-historical  truth  in  the  first 
part.  ,The  last  line  of  every  stanza  is :  "  Den  gamle  lyster 
hvila"  (the  old  man  desires  to  rest)  ;  and  the  original  saga 
tells  us  that  the  king  (Olof),  on  the  first  night,  retired  immedi- 
ately after  the  arrival  of  the  skald.  The  action  of  the  last 
two  parts  is  supposed  to  take  place  while  the  king  is  sleeping ; 
the  poet  imagines  Norna-Gest  pacifying  the  fighting  drunkards 
by  playing  his  harp. 

Nicander  wrote  many  poems  in  a  Gothic  style,  though  not 

i  Cf .  Hjarne:  Gotiska  forbundet,  pp.  i39ff.,  where  Nicander's  paper  is 
quoted  in  full.  According  to  the  saga,  Norna-Gest  (Guest-of-the-Norns) 
was  early  visited  by  the  norns,  the  last  one  of  which  jealously  prophesied 
that  he  should  not  live  longer  than  until  the  light  of  his  cradle  had  burned 
down.  The  light  was  then  extinguished  by  the  more  friendly,  oldest  norn 
and  given  to  the  mother  for  safe-keeping.  Later  Norna-Gest  hid  it  in  his 
harp  and  came  at  an  advanced  age  to  the  court  of  Olof  Tryggvason.  Here 
he  sings  of  his  deeds  and  of  Sigurd  and  Brynhilda,  and  one  day  takes  out 
the  faded  taper,  lights  it,  and  when  it  has  burned  down,  dies.  Cf.  Sogu- 
pattr  af  Norna-Gesti,  in  Fornaldar  Sogur  Nordrlanda.  Kaupmannahofn, 
1829.  Fyrsta  Bindi,  pp.  311-342.  Chapters  n  and  12  deal  with  the  youth 
and  death  of  Norna-Gest.  His  death  occurred  at  the  age  of  "  three  hun- 
dred winters"  (300  vetra). 


162 

always  based  on  any  one  saga,  and  generally  wrote  them  well.  A 
splendid  collection  of  sixteen  national  lyrics  by  Nicander,  called 
"  The  Runes  "  (Runorna),1  was  read  with  much  commendation 
in  the  Gothic  Society  1823-1824.  Many  of  these  have  a  general 
coloring  and  a  sprinkling  of  names  from  the  Edda-literature. 
For  the  benefit  of  the  ordinary  reader,  Nicander  himself  re- 
fers in  a  number  of  appended  notes2  to  some  of  the  specific 
sources  employed.  It  appears  upon  closer  examination  and 
verification  that  Nicander  often  went  to  the  Fornaldar  Sogur 
and  to  Sturleson's  Ynglinga  Saga  (Heimskringla)  for  his  mo- 
tifs. In  the  conversion  of  Arnliot  Gellina3  in  the  "  rune  "  of  the 
same  name,  which  is  taken  from  the  Olof  Haraldson  Saga 
(Chap.  227)  by  Sturleson,  the  poet  follows  the  original  with 
unusual  historical  accuracy.  In  others,  Nicander  modifies  the 
saga,  or  uses  only  a  small  part  of  it,  to  suit  his  fancy.  "Remi- 
niscence of  Iceland'5  (Islands  minne),  on  which  Nicander  has 
only  a  single  historical  note  but  no  exact  reference,  is  also  taken 
from  Sturleson's  Heimskringla,  chapters  43-47.  It  is  based 
on  the  fate  of  Olof  Wood-carver  (Olof  Tratalja),  the  last  of 
the  Ynglinga  kings  in  Sweden  and  father  of  the  Norwegian  line 
of  kings  of  the  same  dynasty.  Now,  according  to  the  saga, 
(Chap.  47),  King  Olof  was  not  zealous  in  sacrificing  to  the 
gods;  the  native  Sviars  did  not  like  this,  they  believed  him, 
therefore,  responsible  for  the  temporary  famine,  in  reality  due 
to  over-population,  captured  him  and  burned  him.  Nicander 
makes  Olof  say :  "  I  was  burned  in  flames  on  account  of  my 
piety,  much  have  I  suffered,  little  am  I  known."4  Although 
the  poetic  embellishments  are  Nicander's  own  invention,  the 
motif  for  "Hjalmar's  Bride"  (Hjalmars  brud)  is  taken  from 
the  last  part  of  Chap.  5  of  the  Hervarar  Saga,5  and  deals  in 

1  Cf.  above,  Chapter  III,  p.  113,  note  i. 

2  Samlade  arbeten,  Forra  delen.     Tredje  upplagan,  pp.  238*1 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  2i8ff. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  216. 

s  Ibid.,  pp.  209  and  238.  Cf.  the  following  passages  from  Fornaldar 
Sogur,  Fyrsta  Bindi,  p.  429 :  "  pessu  naest  tok  Oddr  Hjalmar,  ok  bar  hann 
a  skip  ut,  ok  flutti  heim  til  SvipjoSar,  segjande  pessi  tiSendi  konungi  ok 
dottur  bans;  fekk  henni  sva  mikels  fall  Hjalmars,  at  hun  sprakk  pegar  af 
harmi,  ok  voru  pau  Hjalmar  i  einn  haug  laginn,  ok  drukkit  erfi  eptir  pau." 
After  Hjalmar  had  been  fatally  wounded,  he  commissioned  Oddr  to  convey 
his  last  greetings  to  his  betrothed  Ingeborg,  the  king's  daughter. 


163 

beautiful  poetry  with  the  betrothed  maiden's  fatal  grief  at  see- 
ing her  lover's  dead  body.  The  Romantic  idea  of  meeting  her 
lover  in  death  is  also  present.  One  "  rune "  is  suggested  by 
the  above-mentioned  Norna-Gest  Saga  and  bears  the  title 
"Norna-Gest  as  a  Young  Man"  (Norna-Gest  som  yngling). 
It  is  an  autobiographical  reflection  on  the  poet's  calling,  reward, 
and  death.  For  his  powerful  and  didactic  "  rune  " — preach- 
ing fearlessness  and  patriotism — on  that  ideal  Norse  spokes- 
man of  the  law  Lagman  Thorgny,  Nicander  mentions  Sturleson 
as  his  authority  in  the  first  stanza.1  "  Bjarkamal"  is  a  didac- 
tic application  of  an  incident  in  the  Sorle  Saga.2  Hogne,  a 
Swede,  and  Sorle,  a  Norwegian,  are  engaged  in  mortal  combat. 
Neither  will  give  in.  Sorle  in  a  ditch,  disarmed,  promises  to 
lie  still  until  Hogne,  who  has  thrown  away  his  sword  tempo- 
rarily, gets  his  weapon  to  slay  his  adversary.  This  extreme 
courage  moves  Hogne;  they  extend  the  hand  of  friendship,  for 
unity  gives  strength,  and  thus,  instead  of  one  defeating  the 
other,  they  win  each  other  over.  The  original  saga  tells  (Chap. 
26)  how  they  later  married  each  the  other's  sister. 

In  a  letter  to  C.  P.  Hagberg,  dated  December  30,  i824,3  Teg- 
ner expressed  the  opinion  that  "  The  Runes  "  were  of  sufficient 
value  to  be  considered  by  the  Swedish  Academy  in  the  award 
of  the  Lundblad  prize.  Tegner  anticipated  the  result  of  the 
contest,  however,  by  entertaining  the  conviction  that  the  Acad- 
emy had  a  prejudice  against  Nicander  for  not  living  up  to  his 
reputation,  or  even  Tegner's  expectations.4  Nicander  re- 

1  Cf.  as  in  note  2  on  preceding  page,  p.  202. 

Ljud  sang !  om  Thorgny  Lagman  val ; 
Om  riket  var  ban  man. 
Han  var  en  man  till  kropp  och  sjal, 
Det  sager  Sturleson. 
Cf.  Olof  Haraldson  Saga,  Chap.  79-81. 

2  Cf.  Sorla   Saga   Sterka,   Chap.   25,   in   Fornaldar  Sogur,   pridja  Bind. 
Kaupmannahofn,   1830,  pp.  4o8ff.     For  Nicander's  poem,  cf.  as  in  note  2 
on  preceding  page,  p.  228,  and  note  on  the  same,  p.  240. 

3  Jubelfestupplaga,  V,  pp.  411-12. 

4  Tegner  set  great  hopes  on   "  The  Runesword."     He  writes,   April    i, 
1821   (see  Jubelfestupplaga,  V,  p.  223),  that  it  was  "without  exception  the 
most  ingenious  tragedy  we  have  in  Swedish  up  to  the  present  time."     As 
a  dramatist,   however,   Nicander  never   equalled   his  youthful   production. 


164 

deemed  himself  somewhat,  however,  in  1825,  when  he  was 
awarded  the  Academy's  second  prize  for  his  "  Gothic "  poem 
"The  Feeling  of  Patriotism"  (Fosterlandskanslan),  and  cap- 
tured the  highest  award  for  "Tasso's  Death"  (Tassos  dod)  in 
1826. 

From  the  year  1820  dates  the  conception  of  another  lyrico- 
Romantic  mingling  of  medievalism  and  a  viking  element; 
"  Hildegard  "  by  Bernhard  v.  Beskow.  "  Hildegard,"  which  is 
a  five-act  tragedy  in  blank  verse,  appeared  in  1836  in  Part  I  of 
"  Dramatiska  studier."  The  author,  who  had  traveled  exten- 
sively in  Europe  and  met  most  of  the  famous  literary  men  of 
the  day,  dedicates  his  "  Studies " — and  this  is  significant — 
to  the  "  master  "  Ludwig  Tieck  to  recall  "  dear  memories  "  of 
Dresden  days.  Beskow  was  susceptible  to  all  literary  im- 
pulses and  influences  of  great  men,  whether  of  this  or  that 
school,  was  a  mediator  between  the  Old  School  and  the  New  in 
Sweden,  and  later  in  life  was  virtually,  as  secretary,  the  Swed- 
ish Academy  personified.  And  so,  the  appearance  of  "  Hilde- 
gard," with  the  accompanying  dedication,  seventeen  years  after 
he  had  met  Tieck,  must  be  interpreted  as  an  unusual  tribute  to 
a  Romantic  "  master." 

The  direct  impulse  for  his  drama,  however,  according  to  the 
author,1  was  not  Tieck  but  the  consecration  of  a  nun  in  Rome 
in  1820,  at  which  Beskow  was  present.  If  we  add  to  this  inci- 
dent Beskow's  youthful  enthusiasm  for  saga  literature,  we  can 
easily  imagine  the  setting  in  "  Hildegard."  And  that  there  was 
an  enthusiasm  for  the  saga  and  Swedish  history  is  morally 
certain,  according  to  Beskow's  own  testimony.  In  his  "  Remi- 
niscences" (Lefnadsminnen)2  we  have  the  following  conclu- 

But  the  continued  popularity  of  "The  Runesword,"  it  must  be  remarked, 
can  scarcely  be  questioned.  It  was  translated  into  French  by  Leuozon- 
Leduc,  Paris,  1846,  and  into  Finnish,  1855.  Nicander's  poems  have  gone 
through  several  editions  in  Sweden  and  many  have  been  translated  into 
foreign  tongues.  See  Wirsen's  biography  of  Nicander.  It  was  due  largely 
to  the  friendship  of  Nicander  and  Longfellow,  contracted  in  Rome,  1827, 
that  the  latter's  interest  in  Scandinavian  literature  was  intensified. 

1  See   "  Dramatiska   studier,"    forsta   delen,   p.    72.     In   the   same   place 
Beskow   acknowledges   his   indebtedness   for   a   few   opening   stanzas   to   a 
legend  by  Schack  Staffeldt. 

2  Completed  1857.     Printed  in  Stockholm,   1870.     See  p.  49. 


165 

sive  autobiographical  reference  to  studies  at  Uppsala  in  1811: 

"Strangely  enough  I  had  then  (in  iSn)1  only  two  favorite 
subjects  which  interested  me:  mythology  and  Swedish  history. 
Stridberg's  mythology  I  had  read  through  a  countless  number  of 
times,  so  that  I  knew  it  by  heart.  Dalin's,  Lagerbring's,  and  any 
other  history  I  could  get  hold  of,  I  devoured  with  insatiable 
hunger.  Also  Bjorner's  "Tales  of  Combat"  (Kampadater),  the 
Wilkina  Saga,  and  any  other  sagas  that  were  on  hand.  These  I 
borrowed  from  the  gardener's  library  and  often  read  them  at  night ; 
for  sagas  were  held  in  but  little  esteem  in  any  environment  at  the 
time  and  were  considered  suitable  only  for  women." 

The  Goths,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  attracted  by  Beskow's 
"Gothic"  qualities  and  he  was  elected  to  membership  in  the 
Society  at  the  same  time  as  Nicander,  April  30,  1822. 

"  Hildegard  "  is  much  in  the  same  style  as  "  The  Runesword  " 
and  must  have  been  influenced  by  it.  The  Norse  element  is 
imbedded  in  a  rigid  Catholicism,  the  time  is  the  sunset  of  Norse 
paganism,  and  the  plan  of  the  tragedy  gives,  to  a  certain  extent, 
a  contrast  and  conflict  between  Christianity  and  Scandinavian 
heathenism.  The  main  theme — which  does  not  concern  us 
as  much  as  that  of  "  The  Runesword " — is  similar  to  the 
theme  in  "Atala"  by  Chateaubriand:  the  daughter  Hildegard 
is  the  victim  of  a  vow  made  by  her  Catholic  parents  to  atone 
for  a  previous  crime,  and  discovers  too  late  that  she  is  released 
from  the  stipulations  of  the  vow.  The  motivation,  as  in 
Nicander's  tragedy,  is  often  inadequate.  The  sympathy  for 
the  viking  religion  is  that  of  Nicander,  Oehlenschlager,  and 
Fouque :  it  is  tolerated  side  by  side  with  Christianity.  "  Hil- 
degard "  has  never  been  played,  to  my  knowledge,  but  the  trag- 
edy furnishes  good,  dramatic  reading,  with  beautiful  poetic 
passages.  Though  more  simple  and  concentrated,  the  drama, 
as  a  whole,  does  not  come  up  to  the  high  standard  set  by  "  The 
Runesword."  Since  the  unities  are  observed,  there  is  less  vari- 
ety and  action  than  in  "  The  Runesword."2 

1  Beskow,    speaking   later   in   the   same   paragraph   about   his   religious 
emotions  at  the  time,  says :  "  This  may  seem  somewhat  unusual  for  a  youth 
of  fifteen."     Now,  Beskow  was  born  in  1796,  which  would  put  the  date  of 
this  interest  in  1811. 

2  Beskow  was  much  more  of  a  dramatist  than  Nicander  but,  somehow, 
12 


166 

The  nature  of  the  saga  element  in  "  Hildegard  "  is  somewhat 
the  same  as  in  "  The  Runesword  "  but  it  has  a  stronger  sem- 
blance of  local  color.  This  is  due,  first,  to  more  explicit  refer- 
ences to  and  descriptions  of,  viking  characteristics  and  cus- 
toms; secondly,  to  numerous  references  to  specific  characters 
and  incidents  in  the  sagas  and  early  Scandinavian  history; 
thirdly,  to  a  comprehensive  use  of  terms  from  Norse  mythol- 
ogy. For  instance,  to  illustrate  these  in  order,  in  Act  II,  sc. 
2,  we  find  it  was  the  custom  in  the  race  of  Starkad  and  Stor- 
wirk  to  take  a  bride  by  force  or  robbery,  and  to  fight  a  subse- 
quent duel  with  her  father  if  necessary.  A  forcible  allusion  to 
the  viking  ability  as  helmsmen  is  made  in  II,  4.  With  ex- 
emplary beauty,  Bjorn  describes,  in  a  monolog  in  III,  2,  the 
barbarian  custom  of  women  entering  the  funeral-mounds  of 
their  husbands  and  being  burned  with  them.  In  I,  5,  the  author 
makes  Hildegard  a  descendant  of  Ulf  Jarl,  an  historical  char- 
acter who,  according  to  Sturleson,  (Olof  Haraldson  Saga, 
Chap.  158),  protected  Denmark  while  Knut  was  in  England 
in  1026.  Hakon  Jarl,  the  well-known  saga  hero  and  pagan 
champion,  is  mentioned  by  way  of  comparison  in  IV,  I,  and  the 
historical  Sven  (Blotsven,  i.  e.  Sacrifice-Sven),  who  burned  the 
Uppsala  temple,  in  II,  I.  A  specific  part  of  the  poetic  Edda, 
Havamal,  comes  in  for  a  share  of  the  glory  in  III,  i.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  use  of  Norse  mythology,  the  following  words 
of  Bjorn  in  II,  4,  will  serve  (he  is  speaking  of  the  reported 
death  of  his  friend  Ragnar)  :  "  He  has  gone  to  his  fathers !  He 
has  already  pressed  their  hands  in  greeting  and  emptied  the 
drinking-vessel  with  them,  heard  the  harp  of  Brage,  interpreted 
the  riddle  of  life  with  Mimer,  and  seen  his  life  reflected  in 
Urda's  wave." 

"  Hildegard "  discloses  a  wide  reading  of  saga  material  but 
there  is  no  allegiance  to  any  one  particular  tradition.  The  Norse 
element  is  concentrated  in  a  subordinated  character,  Bjorn,  who 
corresponds  to  Oldur,  Palnatoke,  and  Hakon  Jarl.  Just  as 

"  Hildegard  "  did  not  attain  the  popularity  of  some  of  his  other  dramas, 
even  if  there  were  some  notable  contemporary  exceptions  to  this  rule. 
Better  known  dramas  are :  "  Erik  XIV,"  "  Birger  och  hans  att,"  "  Gustaf 
Adolf  i  Tyskland,"  and  "  Torkel  Knutsson." 


167 

Nicander's  Oldur,  Beskow's  best  portrayed  character  is  the  old 
viking  representative  Bjorn.  Nicander  had  other  heathens 
appear  also,  such  as  peasants,  fighters,  a  viking  lawgiver,  and 
the  hero  Alrik  himself.  In  "  Hildegard,"  also,  there  is  con- 
siderable of  the  viking  left  in  the  converted  Ragnar,  the  father 
of  the  heroine.  In  fact,  we  have  more  definite  information 
about  his  viking  escapades  than  about  any  of  those  in  "The 
Runesword."  Between  Ragnar's  family  and  his  father-in-law's 
there  had  existed  of  yore  a  bitter  race  hatred.  Ragnar  had 
captured  his  wife  with  the  sword  and  slain  her  father  in  the 
single  combat  that  followed.1  He  seems  to  forget  that  he  is  a 
Christian  in  the  last  scene,  obtains  his  sword  from  Bjorn,  and 
dies  on  it  with  these  words : 

Som  viking  jag  begynt,  som  viking  slutar 
jag  lifvets  kamp.2 

Now  to  come  back  to  Bjorn.  He  was  once  besprinkled  with 
water  and  is  a  nominal  Christian  (Act  I,  sc.  2),  but  in  reality 
is  a  hardened,  unbending  viking  with  everything  that  name  im- 
plies. He  can  look  back  upon  a  career  full  of  wild  adventure 
— which  might  be  true  of  a  viking  like  Oldur — but  he  is  more 
frank  and  explicit  about  his  former  combats,  and  is  there- 
fore, a  more  sharply  drawn  type  than  Oldur.  He  has  more 
individual  traits.  He  is  more  of  the  real  primitive  Norseman. 
Deeds,  bravery,  and  character  mean  more  to  him  than  titles  or 
noble  lineage.  To  him  the  farmer's  son  is  on  a  par  with  the 
prince  (cf.  I,  5).  There  is  no  haze  whatever  to  obscure  the 
confessions  of  this  epic-dramatic  character.  He  speaks  with 
apparent  pride  of  earlier  misdeeds — which  to  him  are,  nat- 
urally, deeds  of  valor — and  his  barbarism  is  a  part  of  his 
moral  conviction.  He  is  sincere  and  firm ;  he  speaks  once  only 
and  then,  if  necessary,  affirms  with  the  sword.  Then,  when 
we  learn  in  the  fourth  act  (sc.  i)  that 'he  has  burned  Christian 

1  This  constitutes  his  "  crime  "  which  he  must  atone  for,  as  a  Christian. 

2  "  I  have  commenced  and  end  the  strife  of  life  as  a  viking." 

3  Tegner,  who  believed  "  Hildegard "  to  be  a  "  very  excellent  produc- 
tion," preferred  Bjorn  to  all  the  other  characters.     The  scene  where  Ragnar 
dies  in  his  armor  receives  special  mention,  also,  as  an  effective  scene.     See 
letter  to  Beskow  of  October  13,  1836.     Jubelfestupplaga,  VI,  pp.  293-94. 


168 

temples  and  slaughtered  women  and  children,  we  know  that  he 
has  been  a  viking  of  the  most  dreaded  type. 

Bjorn — whose  very -name  "bear"  is  significant  and  typical 
— is  a  sturdy  champion  of  the  old  gods  and  a  pronounced 
skeptic  as  to  the  new  religion.  On  an  auspicious  occasion  he 
is  willing  to  sacrifice  his  dearest  possession,  his  battle-horse, 
to  Thor  and  Odin,  whom  he  believes  propitious  to  "an 
old  viking"  (I,  2).  The  religion  of  his  ancestors  represents 
strength,  whereas  the  new  teachings  have  weakened  men.  The 
doctrines  of  love  and  peace,  to  Bjorn,  represent  a  "life  of 
milk  and  water"  (I,  3).  The  custom  of  fasting  "puts  no 
marrow  into  the  bones"  (II,  2).  The  Catholics  are  ridiculed 
for  "  singing  the  soul  to  rest  for  pay."  Let  the  mortal  die  by 
the  sword  and  he  will  rest  in  peace  like  his  forefathers  without 
any  singing — is  the  idea  in  Act  II,  I.  He  speaks  slightingly 
(II,  2)  of  a  heathen  who  has  been  carried  away  by  a  "man 
with  goat-legs  and  long  horns,"  because  he  would  not  become 
a  Christian.  Bjorn  knows  only  fearlessness  and  fight;  sword 
and  victory  are  his  only  joy.  He  prefers  to  polish  weapons 
— it  will  be  remembered  that  Oldur  is  grinding  his  sword  at 
the  beginning  of  "The  Runesword " — and  to  possess  the 
"hammer-emblem"  instead  of  the  cross.  For  a  time,  much 
as  in  "The  Runesword"  and  in  "  Hakon  Jarl,"  Bjorn  sees 
that  his  faith  is  symbolic  and  not  so  different  from  Christi- 
anity, except  in  application ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  "  women's 
tears,  lamentations,  heart-pains,  and  natural  deaths,"  have  no 
place  in  Bjorn's  system  of  life  (III,  2). 

The  traditional  disdain  among  the  pagan  Norsemen  for  a 
natural  death  was  rooted,  as  is  well  known,  in  the  fundamental 
principles  of  their  religion :  the  blessedness  of  the  fallen  heroes 
in  Valhalla.  In  this  particular,  Bjorn  is  a  type.  In  Act  II, 
sc.  4,  he  makes  his  confession: 

— "den  tro  jag  lart  af  mina  fader 

gor  lifvet  ljust  och  friskt,  och  doden  herrlig."1 

This  death  may  be  self-inflicted,  especially  when  it  is  in  the 

i  "  The  faith  which  I  have  learned  from  my  forefathers  makes  life  bright 
and  fresh,  and  death  glorious." 


169 

nature  of  a  sacrifice.  Bjorn  rejoices  at  what  later  proves 
to  be  a  premature  report  of  Ragnar's  death.  Ragnar,  upon 
crossing  the  Baltic  on  his  return  from  Jerusalem,  had  courage- 
ously appeased  the  anger  of  the  gods  by  jumping  into  the  sea. 
To  Bjorn  this  was  an  ideal  death  for  a  viking,  who  needed  no 
other  sepulchral  vault  than  the  blue  sky  and  the  stars ;  no  other 
funeral  dirge  than  the  harp  of  the  water-sprite  (II.  4).  In 
Act  III,  sc.  i,  Bjorn  expresses  his  readiness  to  follow  Ragnar 
and  die  himself  before  sunset.  He  asks  Thiodulf,  Hildegard's 
lover,  to  give  him  a  "filled  horn"  when  he  is  ready  to  fly  to 
Odin,  in  order  to  empty  it  to  the  "memory  of  Ragnar,  to  the 
glory  of  the  North,  and  for  the  gods  of  Valhalla."  The  fol- 
lowing is  typical  for  our  viking;  it  is  Bjorn's  advice  to  Thio- 
dulf  (IV,  3) : 

"Tro  icke  qvinnan,  yngling.     Icke  ens 
om  hennes  namn  ar  Hildegard.     Hon  liknar 
den  vackra  blomman,  hvilkens  doft  ger  doden. 


Vig  dig,  som  jag,  vid  svardet.    Om  det  brister, 
sa  dor  du  samma  stund  och  ej  vanarad."1 

i "  Put  no  faith  in  woman,  youth.  Not  even  if  her  name  is  Hildegard. 
She  resembles  the  beautiful  flower  whose  fragrance  yields  death.  Marry 
the  sword  like  myself.  If  that  breaks  you  will  die  the  same  moment  and 
not  dishonored." 


CONCLUSION 

There  were  all  degrees  and  varieties  of  interest  in  the  Old 
Norse  element  during  the  Swedish  Romantic  period.  It 
reached  its  boiling-point  finally  among  the  extreme  militant 
Goths,  for  these  were  saga  enthusiasts  by  confession  and  pro- 
fession, and  the  best  example  of  this  type  is  Ling.  But  a  spas- 
modic and  often  enthusiastic  interest  had  existed  long  before 
the  Goths  appeared,  and  more  particularly  among  the  members 
of  that  literary  coterie  known  later  as  the  Fosforists.  What- 
ever the  contemporary  effect  was,  the  fact  remains,  also,  that 
Atterbom's  "  Skaldarmal "  appeared  before  the  Gothic  organ 
Iduna.  Then  there  were  some  minor  adherents  of  the  Old 
School,  who  were  undoubtedly  influenced  to  a  certain  extent 
by  the  new  tendencies,  and  who  treated  saga  themes  in  the 
old  style.  These  conservatives  were  not  especially  enthusiastic 
about  the  inner  content  of  the  sagas ;  they  cared  little  for  the 
genuine  spirit  and  philosophy  and  of  the  new  mythology,  but 
wrote  creditable  poetry  with  sagas  as  a  basis.  Among  these 
were  Adolf  Granberg  and  Charlotta  d'Albedyhll.  A  full- 
fledged  and  independent  Romanticist,  who  sought  to  penetrate 
the  very  depths  of  vikingism  and  to  reconcile  it  with  Christi- 
anity, with  personal  experiences,  and  modern  Romantic  ideals, 
was  Stagnelius.  He  knew  Norse  mythology  as  well  as  any 
Goth,  probably,  and  certainly  better  than  most  of  them.  Lastly, 
we  have  two  important  dramatic  productions  where  the  interest 
in  the  saga  age  is  epic  and  general:  "The  Runesword"  and 
"  Hildegard."  These  were  both  conceived  during  the  Romantic 
period  (and  the  first  one  completed)  by  the  independent  authors 
who  were  not  elected  to  membership  in  the  Gothic  Society 
until  some  years  later.  In  both  of  these  dramas  there  is  an 
effort  to  reconcile  Norse  paganism  with  Catholicism,  i.  e., 
Christianity,  and  in  both  of  them  the  portrayal  of  the  pagan 
element  is  the  most  successful. 

Of  no  little  importance  was  the  negative  interest  in  Old 

170 


171 

Norse  material  during  the  second  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Nothing  that  the  Fosforists  did  along  Gothic  lines 
gave  any  cause  for  alarm.  But  the  somewhat  tactless  methods 
adopted  at  first  by  some  Goths  did  give  rise  to  a  certain  appre- 
hension in  conservative  circles.  The  result  was  a  crusade 
against  "  Gotho-mania  "  by  those  who  feared  neglect  or  expul- 
sion of  the  old  classical  mythologies.  This  crusade  was  not 
conducted  along  strict  party  lines.  The  Gothic  house  was 
divided  against  itself,  and  unnecessarily  so,  for  the  differences 
of  conception  among  its  members  were  not  as  great  as  sup- 
posed and  were  often  based  on  misunderstanding.  Time  proved 
that  there  had  been  little  cause  for  solicitude  in  the  first  place. 
Those  who  did  not  take  part  in  direct  polemics  resorted  to 
ridicule.  The  Academician  Stjernstolpe,  for  instance,  attacked 
all  Gothism,  and  the  Romantic  humorists  Vitalis  and  Dahlgren 
poured  light  ridicule  over  exaggerations  of  it.  But  the  whole 
affair  did  have  a  healthy  influence ;  it  stirred  things  up.  Every- 
body was  forced  to  recognize  at  least  the  existence  of  an  in- 
digenous material,  which  might  be  used  as  a  basis  for  a  national 
art  and  poetry.  Then  also,  anybody  who  took  a  part  in  the 
controversy  at  all,  whether  for  or  against,  was  compelled  to 
read  the  Old  Norse  literature  to  some  extent ;  it  took  consider- 
able knowledge  of  Scandinavian  mythology  to  ridicule  it 
intelligently. 

All  of  the  important  Fosforists  studied  the  Scandinavian 
myths,  but  no  Gothic  masterpiece  came  from  their  hands. 
Hammarskjold  was  interested  in  the  sagas  but  preferred  to 
leave  them  as  such,  without  introducing  them  into  Swedish  art 
or  poetry.  Livijn  was  very  enthusiastic  about  them,  especi- 
ally during  the  first  decade  of  the  century,  and  formulated  a 
multitude  of  literary  plans  with  Gothic  themes,  but  he  became 
otherwise  employed  and  plans  came  to  naught.  What  little  he 
did  was  fragmentary.  Atterbom's  work  in  this  line  during  the 
strictly  Romantic  period,  save  "  Skaldarmal,"  was  limited  to 
reviews  and  active  encouragements,  but  he  showed  a  genuine 
enthusiasm  and  was  a  scholar  and  philosopher  in  the  interpre- 
tation of  Norse  myths.  That  Atterbom  exerted  some  influence 
in  this  field  is  tolerably  certain. 


172 

The  old  Norse  sources  employed  by  the  Swedish  writers 
of  the  Romantic  period  were  not  very  extensive.  In  many 
cases  the  poetic  products  reveal  only  a  general  knowledge  of 
olden  times,  beliefs,  and  literary  monuments.  In  the  case  of 
Atterbom,  Stagnelius,  and  Nicander  (in  the  "Runes"),  how- 
ever, we  have  undeniable  evidence  of  a  more  detailed  acquaint- 
ance with  specific  sagas.  The  Eddas  are  naturally  of  the 
greatest  importance  for  a  thinker  like  Atterbom;  Sturleson's 
Heimskringla  seems  to  be  well  known  and  very  popular, 
both  in  Academician  circles  and  with  Stagnelius ;  and  Nicander 
borrows  themes  from  the  famous  cycle  of  Fornaldar  S0gur. 
Some  more  modern  histories  of  Scandinavia  are  used  and 
Livijn,  for  instance,  knows  Saxo  Grammaticus. 

It  is  certain  that  the  Goths  were  responsible  for  only  a  part 
of  the  so-called  Gothic  revival  in  Sweden.  The  honor  and 
responsibility  for  the  inauguration  and  permanent  establish- 
ment of  this  commendable  movement  in  Swedish  literature 
must  be  shared  with  their  Romantic  brothers  the  Fosforists, 
and  to  a  greater  extent  than  at  first  supposed.  It  must  be 
shared  to  a  less  degree  with  neutrals  and  some  Academicians, 
and  with  such  individuals  as  Stagnelius,  who  was  a  member  of 
no  society,  but  represented  the  deepest  of  all  Romantic  and 
Gothic  ideals.  In  no  case  was  there  such  a  general  ignorance 
of  Norse  mythology  among  the  Tieck-Novalis-Schelling  group 
of  Swedish  Romanticists  as  among  the  Goths  themselves. 
Atterbom,  Livijn,  Stagnelius,  and  Nicander,  all  knew  a  number 
of  sagas  and  myths  thoroughly ;  whereas  among  the  Goths,  any 
valuable  knowledge  of  Old  Norse  subjects  was  concentrated  in 
the  minds  of  only  two  or  three  men,  an  extremely  small  num- 
ber in  proportion  to  the  total  number  of  members.  Both  in 
aspiration,  encouragement,  and  actual  creation  the  non-Goths 
did  a  noble  work  along  national  lines,  and  did  much  to  prepare 
the  field  for  the  reception  of  that  Gothic  masterpiece,  which 
came  as  the  culmination  of  the  Gothic  revival:  Tegner's 
"  Frithiofs  Saga." 


APPENDIX 

SUPPLEMENTARY  BIOGRAPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL  NOTES 
(Arranged  alphabetically) 

Per  Daniel  Amadeus  Atterbom  (1790-1855) 

The  greatest  of  the  Fosforists  was  born  in  Ostergotland, 
Jan.  19,  1790.  His  childhood  was  very  peaceful  and  idyllic  and 
later  furnished  inspiration  for  many  of  his  beautiful  lyrics. 
Atterbom  attended  school  and  the  gymnasium  in  Linkoping,  at 
sixteen  he  became  a  student  at  Uppsala,  and  studied  the  Ger- 
man philosophers  and  Romanticists.  His  part  in  founding  the 
Aurora  Union  has  been  mentioned.  He  was  the  foremost  con- 
tributor to  F os for os  and  edited  Poetisk  Kalender  from  1812  to 
1822.  From  1817  to  1819  he  lived  abroad,  and  on  his  return 
became  prince  Oscar's  tutor  in  German.  For  a  time  he  was 
professor  of  philosophy  in  Uppsala,  but  later  exchanged  this 
position  for  the  chair  of  esthetics.  In  later  life  he  became 
reconciled  to  his  former  literary  adversaries  and  was  admitted 
to  the  Swedish  Academy  in  1839.  In  his  momentous  but 
unfinished  work  "Swedish  Seers  and  Skalds"  (Svenska  siare 
och  skalder),  which  deals  with  philosophers  and  poets  before 
and  through  the  reign  of  Gustavus  III,  Atterbom  is  less  harsh 
in  his  estimate  of  the  Gustavian  writers.  Atterbom's  domestic 
life  was  remarkably  happy  and  a  late  edition  of  "  The  Isle  of 
Bliss  "  is  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  his  departed  wife.  He 
outlived  most  of  his  friends  and  died  July  21,  1855,  m 
Stockholm. 

As  a  poet,  esthetician,  critic,  and  historian  of  literature, 
Atterbom  exercised  a  vast  influence  on  Swedish  letters  and 
culture.  "  The  Isle  of  Bliss "  and  the  fragmentary  "  Blue- 
Bird"  (Fogel  bla)  are  both  fairy-tales  in  dramatized  form. 
But  Atterbom  was  no  dramatist;  he  was  a  lyric  poet,  and  as 
such  he  ranks  unquestionably  as  one  of  the  greatest  in  Sweden, 

173 


174 

notwithstanding  symbolism,  obscurantism,  and  strange  cosmic 
conceptions  which  permeate  portions  of  his  lyrics.  Atterbom 
represents  the  culmination,  the  tout  ensemble  of  the  "oand- 
lighetspoesi "  in  Swedish  Romanticism.  Among  his  most 
famous  poems  is  the  collection  called  "The  Flowers"  (Blom- 
morna),  a  lyrical  vegetation  marked  by  beauty  and  originality 
but  highly  figurative  and  obscure.  (Cf.  Thomander:  Intrades- 
Tal  ofver  Atterbom.  Svenska  Akademiens  handlingar  ifran 
1796,  Del  29.) 

Bernhard  von  Beskow  (1796-1868) 

Beskow  was  born  in  1796  and  at  an  early  date  began  to  study 
music  and  painting.  In  1819-1821  he  traveled  in  Europe  and  met 
Goethe,  Tieck,  F.  Schlegel,  and  Oehlenschlager.  In  1827-1828, 
the  time  of  the  struggle  between  the  French  classicists  and 
Romanticists,  we  find  Beskow  in  France.  There  he  learned  to 
know  Hugo  and  took  the  opportunity  to  correct  some  erroneous 
statements  about  Swedish  literature  in  Le  Globe.  Beskow  was 
both  a  fascinating  dramatist  and  an  able  composer  of  operas. 
He  was  a  member,  secretary,  and  prize-taker  of  the  Swedish 
Academy,  a  member  of  the  Swedish  Academy  of  Music,  and  of 
a  number  of  French  and  Danish  societies.  From  a  copyist  in 
the  department  of  finance  of  the  king's  chancery  he  worked 
his  way  up  to  chamberlain  at  the  court.  His  drama  "Erik 
XIV"  was  particularly  well  received;  it  was  translated  into 
German,  and  parts  of  it  into  English  and  Danish.  Beskow 
died  in  1868.  (Cf .  Palmblad :  article  on  Beskow  in  Biografiskt 
Lexikon,  Vol.  2,  1836.) 

Carl  Fredrik  Dahlgren  (1791-1844) 

Dahlgren  was  a  gifted  poet,  noted  for  his  sane  and  realistic 
descriptions  of  nature  and  for  his  delightful  humor.  In  his 
famous  "Epistles  of  Mollberg"  (Mollbergs  epistlar)  he  took 
Bellman  for  his  model  and  wrote  in  a  light  and  original  vein. 
Dahlgren,  who  was  a  clergyman,  is  said  to  have  been  a  good 
preacher  and  pastor,  and  a  very  popular  man  in  society.  His 
pleasant  shafts  of  humor  were  directed  at  everybody  and  not 
even  the  Fosforists  (to  whom  Dahlgren  once  belonged)  escaped. 


175 

There  was  no  great  depth  in  his  poetry,  but  neither  was  there 
any  unfathomable  metaphysics,  and  so  he  was  best  in  his  clear, 
simple,  and  "sunny  spring-dithyrambs."  Dahlgren  also  com- 
posed popular  ditties  and  kept  a  salon  in  the  thirties  for  Young 
Sweden.  Later  he  became  a  politician  and  member  of  the 
Riksdag.  (  Cf .  Vetterlund :  Notes  on  Dahlgren  in  introduction 
to  "  Svensk  romantik,"  II,  of  Svensk  national-litteratur.) 

Per  Elg strom  (1781-1810) 

Per  Elgstrom,  an  important  member  of  Aurora,  was  born  on 
Christmas  Eve  1781,  in  the  province  of  Smaland,  and  his 
mother  was  a  poor  peasant's  daughter.  He  studied  German 
philosophy  and  poetry  at  Uppsala  and  took  his  master's  degree 
in  1809.  For  a  time  he  was  tutor  in  the  house  of  a  nobleman 
and  clerk  in  the  ecclesiastical  department  in  Stockholm.  He 
contributed  to  Polyfem  and  to  the  first  numbers  of  Fosforos. 
His  untimely  death  of  consumption  October  28,  1810,  was  the 
cause  for  deep  mourning  in  Fosforistic  circles. 

Erik  Gustaf  Geijer  (1783-1847) 

The  literary  standard-bearer  of  the  Gothic  union  during  its 
first,  hurricane-period  was  born  in  Varmland,  January  12, 
1783,  and  descended  from  an  old  family  which  had  emigrated 
to  Sweden  from  Germany  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  At  twelve  Geijer  entered  Karlstad  gymnasium  and 
only  four  years  later  matriculated  at  Uppsala.  He  had  no 
definite  profession  in  mind  but  studied  the  classics,  history, 
and,  at  spare  moments,  music.  He  was  a  student  of  only 
moderate  means  and  supported  himself  by  tutoring.  In  1803 
he  captured  the  prize  offered  by  the  Swedish  Academy  for  the 
best  work  on  the  memory  of  Sten  Sture,  three  years  later  he 
was  made  master  of  arts,  and  in  1808  received  a  welcome  sti- 
pend. In  1809  he  went  to  England  and  upon  his  return  the 
year  after,  he  was  appointed  decent  in  history  at  his  Alma 
Mater.  He  was  promoted  to  "adjunct"  with  right  to  lecture 
in  1815,  and  was  made  full  professor  after  two  years.  Lydia 
Wahlstrom  (Erik  Gustaf  Geijer,  p.  226,)  divides  Geijer's 


176 

mature  activity  into  the  following  periods:  from  1810  to  1820, 
the  "  special  philosophical " ;  from  1820  to  1838,  a  term  of  ac- 
tivity in  history  and  in  conservative,  practical  politics;  and, 
finally,  from  1838  to  his  death  in  1847,  the  liberal  philosophical 
period.  Geijer  is  to  be  remembered  as  a  popular  teacher,  a 
music  enthusiast  and  composer,  a  conscientious,  scientific  his- 
torian, an  essayist,  a  philosopher,  and  member  of  the  Riksdag. 
He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Atterbom  and  of  the  world- 
renowned  singer  Jenny  Lind.  The  significant  influence  of 
Hans  Jarta's  friendship  for  Geijer's  development  is  historical. 
Of  Geijer's  more  pretentious  works  the  following  two  deserve 
special  mention :  "  The  Annals  of  Sweden  "  (Svea  rikes  hafder) 
and  "The  History  of  the  Swedish  People"  (Svenska  folkets 
historia).  (For  an  account  of  Geijer's  life  and  works,  with 
analyses  of  important  publications,  consult  Lydia  Wahlstrom: 
Erik  Gustaf  Geijer,  Stockholm,  1907.) 

i 

Lorenzo  (Lars)  Hammarskjold  (1785-1827) 

Hammarskjold,  the  foremost  pioneer  to  proclaim  the  new 
ideas  from  Germany,  was  born  April  7,  1785.  He  first  received 
instruction  at  home  and,  after  the  loss  of  his  father  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  his  older  brother  Ake  helped  him  to  continue  his 
studies  elsewhere.  He  matriculated  at  Uppsala  in  1801  and 
studied  in  almost  every  humanistic  field.  He  was  not  a  good 
student,  however,  never  became  much  of  a  philologian,  and  was 
not  "promoted"  in  1816,  though  he  took  his  master's  degree 
six  years  later.  His  youth  was  not  free  from  Weltschmerz  or 
eccentric  plans  of  life;  he  read  "La  nouvelle  Heloise"  and 
"Werther,"  wished  to  be  a  soldier  or  a  bandit,  and  had  an 
unhappy  love-affair;  for  his  sweetheart,  Eleanora  Raaf,  mar- 
ried his  brother.  But  early  troubles  had  no  unwholesome  effect 
upon  Hammarskjold,  and  in  1806  he  was  appointed  assis- 
tant (amanuens)  in  the  Royal  Library  in  Stockholm.  His 
most  influential  work,  as  we  have  noted,  was  as  a  program- 
maker,  as  critic  of  esthetics,  and  as  an  historian  of  literature 
and  art.  His  large  correspondence  at  the  Royal  Library  is  the 
best  first-hand  source  for  the  study  of  the  development  of  the 


177 

New  Movement,  and  a  great  many  of  his  letters  have  been 
published.  Hammarskjold  died  in  1827.  (Cf.  letters;  Bio- 
grafiskt  Lexikon,  article  on  Hammarskjold,  and  Svenska  vit- 
terhetens  historia,  III,  579ff.) 

Samuel  Johan  Hedborn  (1783-1849) 

Hedborn  was  born  October  14,  1783,  in  a  poor  soldier's  home 
in  Ostergotland.  Personal  impressions  of  childhood  became  of 
paramount  importance  in  his  later  development.  He  attended 
school  and  gymnasium  in  Linkoping,  was  a  member  of  the 
Aurorabund,  and  a  contributor  to  the  publications  of  the  Fos- 
forists.  In  1809  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  in  1820  he 
became  pastor  in  an  isolated  place  in  Smaland  and  thereafter 
lived  a  secluded  life,  though  he  never  ceased  to  write  entirely 
nor  to  keep  in  touch  with  his  friend  Atterbom.  Hedborn  pos- 
sessed the  gift  of  pure  lyric,  a  fresh  naivete,  and  Atterbom 
characterized  him  as  the  poet  of  nature,  childhood,  and  religi- 
ous devotion.  He  wrote  some  splendid  hymns  and  was  prob- 
ably the  greatest  of  the  minor  Fosforists.  He  died  December 
26,  1849.  (Cf.  Biographical  note  on  Hedborn  in  Vetterlund's 
introduction  to  "  Svensk  romantik  "  in  Svensk  national-littera- 
tur,  Vol.  IX.) 

Johan  Henrik  Kellgren  (1751-1795) 

Kellgren  was  a  leading  representative  of  the  Old  School  and 
famous  as  a  critic  and  esthetician.  At  first  he  strenuously  de- 
fended the  French  system  of  esthetic  principles,  but  later  he 
anticipated  the  new  literary  movement  by  deviating  some- 
what from  its  stern  rigidity  and  then  wrote  poems  with  deep 
feeling  and  in  a  sublime  style.  Baggesen  and  Klopstock  were 
among  his  later  favorites.  Hammarskjold  calls  Kellgren's 
"The  New  Creation,  or  the  World  of  Imagination"  (Nya 
skapelsen  eller  inbildningens  verld)  "the  most  excellent  lyrical 
production  in  our  (i.  e.,  Swedish)  language  before  1810."  Cf. 
Hammarskjold:  Svenska  vitterheten,  2d  edition,  pp.  334~335-) 

Karl  Gustaf  af  Leopold  (1756-1829) 

Leopold  must  be  mentioned  here  again  as  being  the  sworn 
enemy  and  the  target,  par  excellence,  of  the  New  School. 


178 

After  the  death  of  Kellgren  in  1795,  Leopold  became  the  lead- 
ing veteran  of  the  Gustavian  party.  He  wrote  didactic  poems, 
odes,  poetic  epistles,  satires,  and  tragedies  in  the  French  style. 
He  possessed  a  broad  culture,  a  sparkling  wit,  a  vast  knowl- 
edge, and  a  complete  mastery  of  form.  But  he  clung  tena- 
ciously to  the  sense  commun  method  of  reasoning  and  had  no 
deep  feeling  or  brilliant  talent  to  offset  his  blemishes.  (Cf. 
Horn:  Scandinavian  Literature,  pp.  357-358.)  Hammerskjold 
declares  rather  pointedly  that  Leopold's  aim  in  life  was  to 
become  "a  Voltaire  in  Swedish  translation."  (Svenska  vitter- 
heten,  2d  edition,  p.  466.) 

Per  Henrik  Ling  (1776-1839) 

The  "  founder  of  scientific  gymnastics,"  Per  Henrik  Ling, 
was  born  in  the  province  of  Smaland,  November  15,  1776.  His 
father,  a  priest  in  Ljunga,  died  when  Per  was  only  four  years 
old  and  his  mother  married  the  successor  to  the  Ljunga  pasto- 
rate. At  nine  Per  was  sent  off  to  school  in  Vaxjo  and  his  mother 
died  a  few  years  later,  so  that  Ling  only  barely  remembered 
even  his  mother.  In  1790  we  find  Ling  attending  the  gym- 
nasium, but  he  made  little  progress,  and  after  being  instru- 
mental in  smashing  the  windows  of  the  rector's  house  he  left 
suddenly  one  night,  and  was  then  officially  separated  from  the 
gymnasium.  He  matriculated  at  the  University  of  Lund  in 
the  spring  of  1793  but  was  soon  obliged  to  leave  for  lack  of 
funds.  Where  he  spent  the  next  two  or  three  years  remains  a 
puzzle,  but  he  seems  to  have  been  in  Stockholm  part  of  the 
time,  earning  his  livelihood  by  tutoring  and  translating.  In 
1797  he  took  an  unimportant  examination  in  theology  at  Upp- 
sala, and  in  1799  came  the  turning-point  in  his  career  when  he 
left  for  the  Danish  capital  to  continue  his  studies.  In  Copen- 
hagen he  taught  modern  languages,  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Oehlenschlager  and  Steffens,  commenced  the  study  of  Norse 
mythology,  and  took  up  gymnastics  for  his  health.  Ling  moved 
back  to  Lund  in  1804  and  became  teacher  of  fencing  at  the 
University  the  year  after.  He  combined  the  study  of  anatomy 
and  physiology  with  the  writing  of  poetry  and  worked  out  plans 


179 

for  historical  tragedies.  The  development  of  both  body  and 
soul,  combined  with  the  training  of  the  imagination,  was  to 
be  the  guiding  motto  in  Ling's  life.  Tegner,  on  whom  Ling 
exerted  such  an  epoch-making  influence,  helped  his  friend  to 
obtain,  in  1813,  the  position  as  instructor  in  gymnastics  at  the 
Karlberg  military  school  in  Stockholm.  While  in  the  capital 
Ling  became  acquainted  with  a  large  number  of  artists  and 
men  of  letters,  but  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Fosforists. 
He  joined  the  Goths,  however,  soon  after  his  arrival.  In  1815 
the  Swedish  Academy  awarded  him  the  Lundblad  prize  for 
"  Gylfe,"  and  this  official  recognition  of  his  poetic  ability  no 
doubt  did  much  to  encourage  subsequent  and  more  titanic 
efforts.  Ling's  life  was  not  free  from  material  solicitude,  but 
with  an  iron  will  the  poet-gymnast  overcame  all  obstacles.  In 
1817  he  lost  his  first  wife,  leaving  a  young  daughter.  Two 
years  later  he  married  Charlotta  Katarina  Nettelbladt  by 
whom  he  had  seven  children.  With  the  title  of  professor, 
Ling  left  Karlberg  in  1825  and  afterwards  devoted  most  of  his 
time  to  The  Central  Institute  (Centralinstitutet)  in  Stockholm, 
a  school  established  in  1814  for  the  scientific  training  of  gym- 
nasts. Ling  died  May  3,  1839.  (Cf.  Lydia  Wahlstrom:  Den 
svenska  odlingens  storman,  Vol.  V.) 

Clas  Livijn  (1781-1844) 

Clas  Livijn  was  born  on  November  I,  1781,  and  died  as  a 
prominent  lawyer  October  12,  1844.  His  father,  a  clergyman, 
died  in  1802,  and  this  caused  an  unpleasantness  in  the  family 
which  seriously  affected  the  son.  For  a  time  he  had  difficulty 
in  choosing  a  profession.  He  had  matriculated  at  Lund  in 
October  1800,  but  in  the  autumn  of  1802  he  entered  Uppsala, 
where  he  took  his  examination  in  law  in  1805.  His  life,  and 
more  particularly  his  youth,  was  a  constant  see-saw  of  happi- 
ness and  despair;  he  hovered  between  absolute  indifference 
and  boundless  ambition,  and  this  together  with  his  ironical, 
skeptical  mind  is  said  to  have  been  provoked  thoughts  of  sui- 
cide. He  was  a  typical  Sturmer  und  Dranger,  sensitive,  witty 
and  interesting.  As  a  young  poet  Livijn  failed  to  obtain  recog- 


180 

nition  by  the  Swedish  Academy  and  so  afterwards  ridiculed  it. 
He  was  an  ardent  friend  and  admirer  of  Hammarskjold,  with 
whom  he  kept  up  a  lively  correspondence,  and  the  latter  recipro- 
cated the  admiration  by  dubbing  Livijn  "the  coming  Swedish 
Goethe."  (See  Svenska  vitterhetens  historia,  III,  p.  591.) 
Livijn's  early  inclination  for  English  literature,  his  sympathy 
for  German  classics,  and  his  spasmodic  interest  in  Old  Norse 
make  him  a  most  important  forerunner  of  Swedish  Romanti- 
cism. Livijn  made  translations  from  Tieck,  considerably  later 
his  own  "  Queen  of  Spades  "  (Spader  dame),  1823,  was  in  turn 
translated  by  Fouque,  and  Livijn's  opera  "  The  Mermaid " 
(Hafsfrun)  "  was  probably  the  first  Romantic  drama  written  in 
Sweden."  (Cf.  Biogfiskt  Lexikon,  Vol.  8:  article  on  Livijn.) 
Livijn  was  also  actively  connected  with  Poly  fern,  and  the  pre- 
cise amount  of  his  contribution  has  in  recent  years  been  pretty 
well  established.  That  he  was  not  the  famous  writer  who  signed 
himself  "Nils  Nyberg"  seems  certain;  this  honor  is  now  be- 
stowed upon  Hammarskjold.  (Cf.  Svenska  vitterhetens  his- 
toria, IV,  p.  87  and  note.) 

Carl  August  Nicander  (1799-1839) 

Nicander  was  born  in  Strengnas.  During  his  boyhood  he 
formed  a  warm  friendship  with  Sjoberg-Vitalis,  which  became 
of  the  utmost  importance  for  both,  and  which  only  terminated 
in  Vitalis's  death.  While  Vitalis  was  gloomy  and  bitter  toward 
humanity,  Nicander  was  mild,  gentle  and  lovable.  In  his  occa- 
sional weakness  Nicander  was  often  encouraged  and  strength- 
ened by  his  friend  who,  undoubtedly,  received  some  well-needed 
comfort  in  return.  Nicander  often  suffered  from  want  and 
misery,  and  never  had  any  fixed  position  in  the  community. 
We  find  him  in  Uppsala  in  1817.  In  1827  he  traveled  south  on 
a  stipend  and  after  his  return  we  can  detect  a  deep  mourning 
for  Italy  in  his  poetry.  Many  of  his  best  poems  are  written  in 
Italian  and  German.  Nicander  also  made  translations  from 
Schiller  ("Die  Rauber"  and  "Die  Jungfrau  v.  Orleans")  and 
Shakespeare  ("Othello"),  and  wrote  some  of  the  best  sonnets 
in  the  Swedish  language.  In  1830  he  published  "  Reminis- 
cences from  the  South"  (Minnen  fran  sodern)  and  "  Hespe- 


181 

rider,"  a  collection  of  poems  and  tales.  Other  significant 
works,  besides  "The  Runesword,"  are  "  Tasso's  Death"  and 
"King  Enzio,  the  Last  Hohenstaufen."  His  collected  poems, 
in  four  parts,  have  gone  through  several  editions.  When  Ni- 
cander  died  in  1839  it  was  found  at  the  post-mortem  examina- 
tion that  he  had  suffered  and  finally  succumbed  to  the  same 
disease  as  Stagnelius,  enlargement  of  the  heart,  this  organ  hav- 
ing grown  to  twice  its  natural  size.  (Cf.  Life  of  Nicander  by 
Mellin  in  Vol.  4  of  Samlade  dikter,  Stockholm,  1841.) 

Wilhelm  Fredrik  Palmblad  (1788-1852) 

One  of  the  founders  of  the  Aurorabund  was  W.  F.  Palm- 
blad who  remained  a  zealous  champion  of  the  Fosforists.  He 
wrote  some  insignificant  poems  and  some  mediocre  novels, 
"The  family  Falkensvard,"  (Familien  Falkensvard)  and  "Au- 
rora Konigsmark,"  but  his  chief  celebrity  was  gained  as  con- 
troversialist, biographer,  editor,  and  publisher.  For  twenty- 
five  years,  beginning  1810,  Palmblad  was  manager  of  the  aca- 
demic printing  establishment  in  Uppsala,  which  sent  out  Fas- 
•foros,  Poetisk  Kalender,  and  Svensk  Literatur-Tidning .  Palm- 
blad was  contributor  to  several  literary  periodicals  and  did  work 
in  Persian  and  Hindu  antiquity.  In  1835  he  began  to  edit 
"  Biografiskt  Lexikon  "  and  wrote  many  of  the  articles  himself. 
He  possessed  a  good  sense  of  humor,  was  unusually  witty,  and 
entertained  royally  "under  the  low  roof  of  his  first  printing- 
office,"  where  the  English  and  German  authors  were  read  and 
discussed.  Atterbom  characterizes  Palmblad  as  "  one  of  the 
most  learned  men  who  ever  wrote  novels,"  and  declares  that  a 
Swedish  publicist  had  never  existed  who  could  be  compared  to 
him  in  geographical,  statistical,  historical,  and  political  knowl- 
edge. (  Cf .  Atterbom :  Minnesteckningar  och  tal.  Senare  bandet. 
Orebro,  1869,  p.  205.) 

Erik  Johan  Stagnelius   (1793-1823) 

This  dreamy  and  hypochondriacal  but  highly  gifted  poet  was 
born  on  the  Island  of  Oland  in  1793.     His  father  was  a  pro- 
fessor and  minister  who  later  became  Bishop  of  Calmar.     The 
13 


182 

young  Stagnelius  speedily  devoured  everything  in  his  father's 
library  and  when  he  left  for  the  academy  he  was  splendidly 
equipped  in  Norse  mythology  and  the  classics.  He  studied 
first  at  the  University  of  Lund  and  then  at  Uppsala,  where  he 
took  his  examination  for  the  chancery  (Kansli-examen)  in 
1814.  He  lived  a  secluded  life  as  a  chancery-clerk  in  Stockholm 
and  was  little  noticed  while  he  was  alive.  He  never  took  any 
part  in  the  fashionable  literary  polemics  of  his  age,  but  devoted 
his  time  to  creative  productions  and  to  a  strange,  melancholy, 
mystic-pantheistic  reflection.  Stagnelius  never  married,  but  his 
poems  have  the  tone  of  disappointed  love,  though  his  father 
denied  the  contention  that  his  son  had  ever  suffered  from  an 
unrequited  affection.  His  poetic  activity  lasted  only  about 
eleven  years,  beginning  1812,  but  during  that  period  he  wrote 
enough  idylls,  elegies,  sonnets,  odes,  romances,  pure  lyrics, 
epics  and  dramas  to  gain  the  deserved  reputation  of  a  great 
poet.  His  best  known  works,  in  addition  to  those  with 
Norse  motives,  are:  the  epic  "Vladimir  the  Great"  (Wlad- 
imir  den  Store);  "  Bachanterna,"  a  tragedy;  the  religious 
drama  "  The  Martyrs"  (Martyrerna)  ;  "  The  Knight's  Tower  " 
(Riddartornet),  a  Romantic  drama;  and  that  "half  philosoph- 
ical and  half  religious  cycle  of  poems "  "  Lilies  of  Sharon " 
(Liljor  i  Saron).  Stagnelius  suffered  from  heart- failure,  which 
gradually  undermined  his  young  life,  and  one  morning  in  1823 
he  was  found  dead  in  bed.  The  works  of  Stagnelius  have  been 
translated  into  German  by  K.  F.  L.  Kannegiesser,  Leipzig,  6 
vols.  1851.  I  have  not  seen  this  translation.  (Cf.  Introduction 
by  Hammarskjold  in  part  I  of  his  edition  of  Stagnelius's  Sam- 
lade  skrifter;  also,  supplement  at  end  of  part  3.) 

Esaias  Tegner  (1782-1846) 

The  author  of  "  Frithiof's  Saga,"  the  greatest  writer  of  the 
Swedish  Romantic  period  and,  undoubtedly,  the  best  known 
Swedish  poet  of  all  times,  needs  but  little  consideration  here. 
In  connection  with  our  specific  topic,  however,  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  call  attention  to  an  apparently  wrong  impression  about 
Tegner's  relation  to  the  Romanticists,  an  impression  which  is 


183 

more  especially  entertained  by  foreign  historians  of  Swedish 
literature.  For  instance,  Bernardi  in  "La  Litterature  scandi- 
nave"  (Paris,  1894,  p.  64)  calls  Tegner  the  head  of  the  Gothic 
School,  and  either  ignores  the  Romantic  movement  under  Ger- 
man influence  entirely,  or  knew  nothing  about  it.  To  Bernardi, 
Bellman  and  Tegner  are  the  only  names  of  the  whole  Romantic 
movement  worthy  of  mention,  and  such  an  unconditional  dis- 
missal of  the  subject  is  not  only  misleading  but  morally  unjust. 
Tegner  was  not  the  militant  head  of  any  school  but  above  all 
schools.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Gothic  group,  to  be 
sure,  he  eventually  became  its  greatest  literary  exponent,  he 
contributed  to  Iduna,  and  ultimately  acquired  his  greatest  claim 
to  a  cosmopolitan  immortality  by  the  treatment  of  a  Norse 
theme  in  accordance  with  Gothic  principles;  but  Tegner  was 
never  guilty  of  the  Gothic  exaggerations  and  openly  opposed 
the  Fosforists.  Tegner  was  a  leader  in  poetic  art,  pure  and 
simple,  and  no  slave  who  abided  strictly  by  the  formulated  dog- 
mas of  any  one  literary  faith. 

Tegner  was  born  November  13, 1782,  in  Varmland.  After  the 
death  of  his  father,  a  clergyman,  young  Tegner  found  patrons 
who  assumed  care  of  his  studies.  At  twenty  years  of  age  he 
became  decent  of  esthetics  at  the  University  of  Lund,  in  1806 
he  married,  in  1812  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  also 
became  professor  of  Greek  in  Lund.  A  learned  Hellenist  and 
popular  lecturer,  he  was  dean  of  the  faculty  of  philosophy 
from  1814  to  1823,  and  the  following  year  he  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Vaxjo.  In  1833  he  journeyed  to  Bohemia  for  his 
health  and  on  the  way  met  Schleiermacher,  Steffens,  and  others. 
Liver  trouble  and  a  consequent  recurring  of  melancholia  affected 
his  mind,  so  that  in  1840  Tegner  was  taken  to  an  asylum  in 
Schleswig  for  treatment.  He  recovered  sufficiently  to  take  up 
his  work  again,  but  he  never  regained  his  former  vigor  and 
died  November  2,  1846.  The  following  poems  will  give  any 
reader  an  estimate  of  Tegner's  power :  "  War-song  for  the 
Militia  of  Scania"  (Krigssang  for  skanska  landtvarnet),  1808; 
the  prize-poem  "  Svea,"  1811;  "  Nore,"  1814;  "New-Years 
1816"  (Nyaret  1816)  ;  "The  Children  of  the  Lord's  Supper" 


184 

(Nattvardsbarnen),  1820,  translated  by  H.  W.  Longfellow; 
"Axel,"  a  narrative  poem,  1821 ;  and  "  Frithiofs  Saga,"  1825. 
The  latter  has  been  translated  into  almost  every  European 
tongue.  There  are  at  least  twenty-five  different  translations  of 
it  into  German  and  twenty-two  into  English,  the  last  one  by 
Clement  B.  Shaw  of  Chicago.  (Cf.  Introduction  to  the 
Nationalupplaga  of  Tegner's  Samlade  skrifter,  by  Bottiger; 
also  Brandes:  Esaias  Tegner.) 

Erik  Julius  S job  erg -Vitalis  ( 1794-1828) 

Vitalis  was  born  in  Sodermanland  in  1794.  His  father  was 
a  poor  workman  and  his  mother  a  minister's  daughter.  He 
exhibited  in  early  youth  a  marked  gift  for  study  and  poetry  so 
that  his  friends  helped  him  to  obtain  an  education.  He  entered 
the  gymnasium  in  1809,  but  left  suddenly  in  1814  and  went  to 
Uppsala.  Vitalis's  whole  life  is  a  record  of  hardships ;  he  was 
always  poor  but  too  sensitive  to  accept  material  aid  without 
humiliation,  he  suffered  immensely  from  an  incurable  physical 
malady,  and  contracted  debts,  but  managed  to  support  himself, 
after  a  fashion,  by  tutoring  and  translating.  He  received  a 
stipend  in  1822  and  by  a  most  extraordinary  will-power  suc- 
ceeded in  taking  his  doctorate  of  philosophy  in  1824.  Though 
a  friend  of  Nicander,  as  we  have  seen,  he  attacked  both  the 
Fosforists  and  Goths,  and  in  so  doing  displayed  a  decided  talent 
for  satire  and  humor.  To  better  his  chances  Vitalis  moved 
to  Stockholm  in  1827,  but  found  only  more  trouble  and,  in  the 
following  year,  death.  (Cf.  Carl  L.  Ostergren:  Vitalis,  hans  lif 
och  diktning,  Uppsala,  1869.) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
(Grouped  in  the  order  of  their  importance) 

I.  LITERARY  PERIODICALS 

Iduna.  No.  I-H.  Stockholm,  1811-1845.  (For  first  num- 
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Journal  for  Litteraturen  och  Teatern,  1809-1813.  Then  con- 
tinued as : 

Allmanna  Journalen,  1813-1822.     Stockholm. 

Poetisk  Kalender.     Uppsala,  1812-1822. 

Phosphoros   (Fosforos).     1810-1813.     Printed  in  Uppsala. 

Polyfem.     Forsta-Femte  samlingen.     Stockholm,  1809-1812. 

Svensk  Litteratur-Tidning.  Stockholm  och  Uppsala,  1813- 
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d'Albedyhll,  Eleonora  Charlotta,  Gefion.    Skaldedikt  i  fyra  san- 

ger.    Uppsala,  1814. 

Atterbom,  P.  D.  A.,  Samlade  dikter.    1-6.    Orebro,  1854-1863. 

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Ling.  Svenska  Akademiens  handlingar  if  ran  1796.     Del 

20.     Stockholm,  1843. 

Samlade  skrifter  i  obunden  stil.     I-VII.     Orebro,  1859- 

1870.     Containing: 

Inledning  till  svenska  siare  och  skalder,  f  jerde  delen,  1864. 
Minnesteckningar  och  tal.     Tva  delar,  1869. 
Literara  karakteristiker.     Tva  delar,  1870. 
Beskow,  Bernhard  v.,  Dramatiska  studier.     Stockholm,  1836- 

1838.     Lefnadsminnen.     Stockholm,  1870. 
Bottiger,  Carl  Wilhelm,  Aurora-Forbundet  i  Uppsala.    Svenska 
Akademiens  handlingar  ifran  ar  1796.    Del  49.    Stock- 
holm, 1874. 

Minne  af  Erik  Johan  Stagnelius.     (No  date.     Probably 
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185 


186 

Fouque,  Friedrich,  Baron  de  la  Motte,  Thiodulf  the  Icelander. 

London,  1865. 
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beredelser    och    forsta    utveckling.      (Till    ar    1811.) 

Stockholm,  1889. 

Bref  rorande  nya  skolans  historia.     Uppsala,  1886-1891. 
Granberg,  P.  A.,  Jorund,  lyrisk  tragedi  i  tre  akter.     Svenska 

Akademiens  handlingar  if  ran  1796.     Del  6,  pp.  2651!. 

Stockholm,  1817. 
Hallman,  Mila,  Clas  Livijn,  en  studie.     Med  bihang:  Spader 

dame.     Stockholm,  1909. 
Hammarskjold,  Lorenzo,  Svenska  vitterheten.     Andra  uppla- 

gan  af  P.  A.  Sonden.     Stockholm,  1833. 
Kritisch-historische  Uebersicht  des  Zustandes  der  swed- 

ischen  Literatur  seit  dem  Anfange  dieses  Jahrhunderts. 

Hermes,  Leipzig,  Numbers  XVII  and  XX,  1823;  and 

XXII,  1824. 
Utkast  till  de  bildande  konsternas  historia,  i  forelasnin- 

gar.     Stockholm,  1817. 
Hjarne,  Rudolf,  Gotiska  forbundet  och  dess  hufvudman.     I. 

Stockholm,  1878. 
Dagen  fore  drabbningen,  eller  nya  skolan  och  dess  man  i 

sin    uppkomst    och     sina     forberedelser.      1802-1810. 

Stockholm,  1882. 
Geijer,  Erik  Gustaf,  Samlade  skrifter,  1-8.     Stockholm,  1874- 

1876. 

Ling,  P.  H.     Samlade  arbeten.     I-III.     Stockholm,  1866. 
Ljunggren,  Gustaf,  Svenska  vitterhetens  hafder  efter  Gustaf 

III:s  dod.     I-V.     Lund,  1873-1895.     Smarre  skrifter. 

I  and  III.     Lund,  1872  and  1881. 

Malmstrom,  Bernhard  Elis,  Grunddragen  af  svenska  vitter- 
hetens historia,     I-V.     Orebro,  1866-1868. 
Molin,  Adrian,  Geijer-Studier.     Goteborg,  1906. 
Mortensen,    Johan,    Clas    Livijns    dramatiska    forfattarskap. 

Stockholm,  1911. 
Nicander,  K.  A.,  Samlade  dikter.     I-IV.     Stockholm,  1839- 

1841. 
Samlade  arbeten.     Tredje  upplagan.     I-II.     Stockholm, 

1862. 


187 

Norling,  Borje,  Nya  skolan  bedomd  i  literaturhistorien.  Stock- 
holm, 1880. 

Palmblad,  F.  W.,  Biografiskt  Lexikon  ofver  namnkunnige 
svenska  man.  Articles  on  Ling,  Hammarskjold,  and 
Beskow. 

Rafn,  C.  C.,  Fornaldar  Sogur  Nordrlanda  eftir  gomlum  hand- 
ritum.  Fyrsta  Bindi,  Kaupmannahofn,  1829.  pridja 
Bindi,  Kaupmannahofn,  1830. 

Rydqvist,  Johan  Er.,  Bernhard  v.  Beskow,  Minnesteckning. 
Stockholm,  1873. 

Saxo  Grammaticus:  Danish  History,  First  9  books,  Trans- 
lated by  Oliver  Elton,  B.A.  London,  1894. 

Schiick,  Henrik,  Ur  gamla  papper,  containing  Den  gotiska  sko- 
lan. Stockholm,  1904. 

Snorre  Sturleson,  Konungasagor.  Translated  into  Swedish  by 
Hans  Hildebrand.  Stockholm,  1889. 

Stagnelius,  E.  J.,  Samlade  skrifter.     Utgifna  af  L.  Hammar- 
skjold.    Delar  1-3.     Stockholm,  1836. 
Samlade    skrifter.      Sjunde    upplagan,    af    C.    Eichhorn. 
Stockholm,  1881. 

Sterner,  Anders,  Den  nordiska  mytens  anvandning  i  bildande 
konst.  Stockholm,  1881. 

Sunden,  D.  A.,  Oversikt  av  nordiska  mytologien.  Femte  upp- 
lagan. Stockholm,  1908. 

Tegner,  Elof,  Ur  Esaias  TegneYs  papper.     Stockholm,  1882. 

Tegner,  Esaias,  Samlade  skrifter.     I-VII.     Jubelfestupplaga. 

Stockholm, 1882-1885. 

Efterlamnade  skrifter.     I-III.     I  and  II  contain  letters. 
Stockholm,  no  date. 

Thomander,  Johan  Henrik,  Intrades-Tal  ofver  Atterbom,  hal- 
let  den  29  Maj  1857.  Svenska  Akademiens  handlingar 
ifran  ar  1796.  Del  29.  Stockholm,  1857. 

Vedel,  Valdemar,  Svensk  romantik.     Kjzfoenhavn,  1894. 

Wahlstrom,  Lydia,  Den  svenska  odlingens  storman.     V.     Per 

Henrik  Ling.     Stockholm,  1902. 
Erik  Gustaf  Geijer,  en  lefnadsteckning.     Stockholm,  1907. 

Westerblad,  Carl  August,  Pehr  Henrik  Ling,  en  lefnadsteck- 
ning och  nagra  synpunkter.  Stockholm,  1904. 


188 

Wirsen,  C.  D.  af,  Clas  Livijn,  bans  verksamhet  inom  skon- 
literaturen  och  den  literara  polemiken.  Stockholm, 
1870. 

Lefnadsteckningar   af   K.   A.    Nicander,   pp.    I73ff.     Af 
Bern.  v.  Beskow,  pp.  29  iff.     Stockholm,  1901. 

Wordsworth,  John,  Bishop  of  Salisbury:  The  National  Church 
of  Sweden  (The  Hale  Lectures  1910).  London  .and 
Oxford,  England,  and  Milwaukee,  U.  S.  A.,  1911. 

Ostergren,  Carl  L.,  Om  Vitalis,  hans  lif  och  diktning.  Upp- 
sala, 1869. 

III.  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF   SPECIAL  IMPORTANCE  FOR 
INTRODUCTION 

Arentzen,  Kr.,  Baggesen  og  Oehlenschlager.     Literaturhistor- 

isk  studie.     I-VIII.     Kj^benhavn,  1870-1878. 
Baggesen,  Jens,  Poesiens  oprindelse,  in  Deel  I,  pp.  18-53  of 

Vaerker,   1-8.     Kj^benhavn,  1879-1882. 
Blanck,  Anton,  Den  nordiska  renassansen  i  sjuttonhundratalets 

litteratur.     Stockholm,  1911. 
Castren,  Gunnar,  Norden  i  den  franska  litteraturen.     Helsing- 

fors,  1910. 
Edda.     i.  Edda,   Saemundar  hinns   Froda.     Edda  Rhytmica 

seu  antiqnior  vulgo  Saemundiana  dicta.     Pars  I,  Haf- 

niae,  1787;  Pars  II,  Hafniae,  1818.     Sumptibus  Legati 

Magnaeani  et  Gyldendalii. 

2.  Edda,  Saemundar  hinns  Froda.     Collectio  Carminum 
veterum  Scaldorum  Saemundiana  dicta.     Ex  recensione 
Erasmi  Christian!  Rask.     Curavit  Arv.  Aug.  Afzelius. 
Holmiae,  1818. 

3.  Saemund  den  vises  Edda.     Translated  into  Swedish  by 
Arv.  Aug.  Afzelius.     Stockholm,  1818. 

4.  Rasmus  B.  Anderson:  The  Younger  Edda.     Chicago, 
1880. 

5.  Icelandic  Poetry,  or  the  Edda  of  Saemund.    Translated 
into  English  verse  by  A.  S.  Cottle.     Bristol,  1797. 


189 

6.  Hugo    Gering:  Die    Edda.     Leipzig   und    Wien.     No 
date.. 

7.  Die  Briider  Grimm:  Lieder  der  alien  Edda.     Erster 
Band.     Berlin,  1815. 

8.  du  Puget,  Mile.  R.,  les  Eddas.    Paris,  1846. 

Ewald,  Johannes,  Samtlige  skrifter.     Bind  1-4.     Kjjzfoenhavn, 

1780-1791. 

Samtlige  skrifter.    Deel  1-8.    Kjjfoenhavn,  1850-1855. 
Fouque,  Friedrich  Baron  de  la  Motte,  Der  Held  des  Nordens. 

Berlin,  1810. 
Gerstenberg,  H.  W.  von,  Deutsche  Nationalliteratur.     No.  48. 

Containing   "Der    Skalde"    (Gedicht    eines    Skalden). 

Also  works  of  Kretschmann  and  Denis  in  the  same 

volume. 
Goethe,  Johann  Wofgang  von,  Dichtung  und  Wahrheit.    Vol. 

28  of  Weimar  edition. 

Grater,  Fr.  David,  Nordische  Blumen.    Leipzig,  1789. 
Gray,  Thomas,  Works.    Vol.  I,  Poems,  containing  The  Bard, 

The  Fatal  Sisters,  and  The  Descent  of  Odin.    London, 

1816. 
Gustaf  III :  s  Skrifter.     Andra  delen.  Stockholm,  1806.     See 

Frigga,  pp.  3071!. 
Herbert,  William,  Select  Icelandic  Poetry.     Translated  from 

the  original,  with  notes.     London,  1804-1806. 
Herder,  Johann  Gottfried  von,  Iduna  oder  der  Apfel  der  Ver- 

jiingung.     Zutritt  der  nordischen  Mythologie  zur  neu- 

eren  Dichtkunst.     Werke.     Hrsg.  von  B.  Suphan.    Ber- 
lin, 1877-1899.    Ueber  Ossian  u.  die  Lieder  alter  Volker, 

1773- 
Klopstock,   F.   G.,  Werke.     Deutsche  Nationalliteratur.     Bd. 

46-48. 
Macpherson,  The  Poems  of  Ossian.     I-II.     Edinburgh  and 

London,  1870. 
Mallet,  P.  H.,  Histoire  de  Danemarc.    Troisieme  edition,  1-9. 

Geneve,  1787-1789. 
Nial-Saga.     Historia  Niali  et  Filiorum.     Sumtibus  Petri  Fri- 

derici  Suhmii  et  Legati  Arna-Magnaeani.  Havniae,  Anno 

MDCCCIX. 


190 

Oehlenschlager,  Adam,  Digte.    Ki^benhavn,  1803. 
Nordiske  digte.     Ki^benhavn,  1807. 
Nordens  guder.     Ki^benhavn,  1819. 
Poetiske  skrifter.     Ki^benhavn,   1896-1899.     I-II,  XII- 

XIII. 

Dramatische  Werke.    Wien,  1818. 

Oxenstjerna,  Johan  Gabriel,  Arbeten.     Andra  delen.     Stock- 
holm, 1806. 
Percy,  Thomas,  Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry.     I-IIL 

London,  1794. 
Pram,  C,  Staerkodder,  Et  Digt  i  femten  sange.    Ki^benhavn, 

1785. 
de  Saint-Pierre,  Jacques  Bernardin  Henri,  fitudes  de  la  nature. 

L'Arcadie.    Troisieme  edition.    Tome  quatrieme.    Paris, 

1788. 
Schimmelmann,  Jakob,  Abhandlung  abgefasst  in  einern  Schrei- 

ben  an  einen  Gelehrten  von  der  alten  Islandischen  Edda. 

Halle  u.  Leipzig,  1774. 

Stael-Holstein,  Mme.  de,  De  la  litterature.     Troisieme  edi- 
tion.    Tome  I-II.     Paris,    1818.     Especially  chapters 

XI  and  XII  of  Tome  I. 
Sch^ning,  Gerhard,  Afhandling  om  de  Norskes  og  en  deel  andre 

Nordiske  Folkes  oprindelse.    Sorp'e,  1769. 
Suhm,  P.  F.,  Om  Odin  og  den  hedniske  gudelaere  of  guds- 

tienste  udi  Norden.     Ki^benhavn,  1771. 
Historic  af  Danmark.    From  803-1400.    I-XIV.    Ki^ben- 

havn,  1782-1828. 
Weiss,  article  on  Comte  de  Tressan  in  Biographic  Universelle. 

Nouvelle  edition,  Vol.  42. 

IV.     WORKS  OF  A  GENERAL  CHARACTER. 

Bernardi,  L.,  La  Litterature  scandinave.    Paris,  1894. 

Brandes,  Georg,  Esaias  Tegner.     Ki^benhavn,  1878. 

Translated  ( I )  into  Swedish  by  O.  A.  Stridsberg.  Stock- 
holm, no  date.  (2)  Into  English  by  R.  B.  Anderson  in 
"Authors  of  the  XIX  Century,"  pp.  i68ff. 


191 

Dahlgren,    Carl   Fredrik,    Samlade   arbeten    1-5.     Stockholm, 

1847-1852.    Contains,  in  Vol.  I,  life  of  author  by  A.  I. 

Arwidson. 

d'Ehrenstrom,  Marianne,  Notices  sur  la  litterature  et  les  beaux- 
arts  en  Suede.     Stockholm,  1826. 
Fryzell,  Anders,  Bidrag  till  Sveriges  litteratur-historia.     1-9. 

Stockholm,  1860-1862. 
Geijer,  E.  G.,  and  A.  A.  Afzelius:  Svenska  folkvisor.     New 

edition   with   several  additions  by   R.    Bergstrom   and 

Leonard  Hoijer.     Stockholm,  1880. 
Horn,   Frederick  Winkel,   History  of  the  Literature  of  the 

Scandinavian  North.     Translated  by  Rasmus  B.  Ander- 
son.     Chicago,  1901. 
Kellgren,  Johan  Henrik,  Samlade  skrifter,  I-II  in  one  volume. 

Gefle,  1884-1885. 
Klemming,  G.  E.,  Sveriges  dramatisk  litteratur  till  1875.     A 

bibliography.    1876.     (No  place.) 
Lenstrom,    Carl    Julius,    Svenska    poesiens    historia.     Senare 

delen.    Orebro,  1840. 
Leopold,  Carl  Gustaf  af,  Samlade  skrifter.    I-II.    Stockholm 

and  Uppsala,  1873. 
Leouzon-Leduc,  L.,   Histoire  litteraire   du   Nord.     Premiere 

partie:  Tegner.     Paris,  1850. 
Nordisk  Konversationslexikon.   Stockholm,  1876-1894.    Article 

on  Nicander. 

Puget,  Mile.  R.  du,  Fleurs  scandinaves.    Paris,  no  date. 
Schiick,   Henrik,   och   Karl   Warburg:   Illustrerad   svensk-lit- 

teraturhistoria.      I-II,   in   three   volumes.      Stockholm, 

1897.    See  last  half  of  II. 
Schweitzer,  Ph.,  Geschichte  der  scandinavischen  Literatur  im 

19.  Jahrhundert,  pp.  128-202:  Die  romantische  Schon- 

literatur  Schwedens.     Leipzig,  no  date. 
Soderberg,  Erik  Natanael,  Samuel  Johan  Hedborn.     Doctor's 

dissertation.    Uppsala,  1897. 
Vetterlund,  Fr.,  Fran  nyromantikens  dagar.     Stockholm  och 

Uppsala,  1907. 
Studier  och  dikter.     Stockholm,  1901. 


192 

Introduction  to  Vols.  IX  and  X  of  Svensk  national-littera- 
tur.  Vols.  IX  and  X  comprise  Svensk  romantik.  Stock- 
holm, 1908  and  1910. 

Vitalis  (Erik  Sjoberg),  Samlade  skrifter,  with  prefaces  by  E. 
G.  Geijer  and  C.  A.  Forselius.     Stockholm,  1873. 


VITA 

Adolph  Burnett  Benson  (Adolf  Berndt  Bengtson)  was  born 
in  Skane,  Sweden,  November  22,  1881.  After  attending  a 
Folkskola  in  that  place,  he  emigrated  to  United  States  in  1892. 
He  attended  the  public  school  at  East  Berlin,  Connecticut,  and 
prepared  for  college  at  the  Middletown  (Conn.)  High  School. 
Entering  Wesleyan  University,  he  was  graduated,  magna  cum 
laude,  in  1907  with  the  degree  of  B.S.  Then,  for  two  years, 
while  teaching  German  and  French  in  Bellefonte  Academy, 
Bellefonte,  Pa.,  he  pursued  graduate  work,  in  absentia,  under 
the  direction  of  Professor  Fife,  of  Wesleyan  University,  re- 
ceiving the  degree  of  M.S.  in  1910. 

He  has  spent  two  years,  from  1909-1911,  in  post-graduate 
study  at  Columbia  University  in  the  fields  of  Germanic  Lan- 
guages and  Literatures  and  French  Language  and  Literature. 
The  first  year  he  was  University  Scholar  and  the  second  Uni- 
versity Fellow  in  Germanics,  receiving  the  degree  of  A.M.  in 
1910.  His  resident  graduate  work  has  been  done  under  Pro- 
fessors Calvin  Thomas,  W.  H.  Carpenter,  Remy,  Tombo,  and 
Loiseaux. 


193 


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